Down Under
by foxchicka19
Summary: Amongst hundreds of people, four stand out most... Two couples. One ship. One gigantic tidal wave. The only way to survive is to get to the bottom of the ship -which has now become the top. The ultimate survival adventure for the ultimate team.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** I told you it'd be coming ;) Down Under! For lack of a more creative title this time around XD

Ahem. (In a theatrical voice)

_"Amongst hundreds of people, four stand out most..._

_Two couples. One ship. One gigantic tidal wave._

_The only way to survive is to get to the bottom of the ship -which has now become the top. _

_The ultimate survival adventure for the ultimate team._

_Only, is it as easy as it sounds?"_

How was that for a summary? I'm thinking I'm going to copy and paste that right there into the summary box when I get there XD

Polls are still open, for the second story I'll be writing.

Not really sure how often I'll actually be updating. With two stories on the go, I'd say about every other day?

Well, enjoy~! :)

* * *

><p><strong>Down Under<strong>

_**Prologue**_

_Nami_

I stretched as I looked around. I couldn't see him anywhere. With a sigh, I continued forward. I mean, when looking for Luffy, that's all you could do. Maybe there was a bar around with meat. Maybe he was playing hide-and-seek with Usopp and Chopper. Maybe he was just being a dumbass because he knew that I knew he had stolen a couple of my mikans without my permission.

If he had just asked I would have been okay with it. I would have picked him out a nice ripe one –not like it mattered since it went down the hatch no matter what the grade of food.

"You, ma'am," A man grabbed my upper arm as I walked by. "How would you like to go on a cruise?"

"A cruise?" I repeated doubtfully. I was on a ship for a living. What was the point of going on a cruise?

"A cruise," He said, grinning widely. "You look like a hard worker, dealing with a lot of stress. There's a spa feature. The food is amazing, with all-you-can-eat buffets. The rooms are the most comfortable out on the sea. If you're feeling out of shape, there's a well equipped gym. And an on-ship library. You could spend every evening of the week-long cruise with your loved one. It's a nice way to get away for a while."

"I don't need any of that," I told him, going to walk away.

"I'll give the tickets to you half priced!" He bargained.

"I don't need it," I called over my shoulder as I walked away. When I was far enough away, I pulled two tickets. I grinned as I read them. One ticket was good for two passengers. They were both for the couples suites.

What was the harm in checking it out?

"Nami!" Luffy called out.

"There you are," I scowled. "Have you seen Robin and Zoro?"

"Eh? Why?" He skidded to a halt in front of me.

"Just wondering," I told him, tucking the tickets away. "Want to go on a short trip, Luffy?"

"A trip?" He tilted his head to the side.

"Well, it's two weeks until the log pose is set," I told him, taking his arm in mine as we walked, "And spending it on the island would get boring."

"I thought you were going to steal a new log pose that was already set," He said.

"Or we could go on a trip," I said, "Get spoiled a little bit. All-you-can-eat buffets, every night –"

"I'm in," He interrupted.

"Good," I smiled. "Now let's go convince Robin and Zoro."

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"Here comes trouble," Zoro muttered, turning away and facing the sea.

I looked up to see Nami and Luffy heading our way. I gave a small wave, "She looks happy."

"Happy means trouble with her," He looked at me with his one eye. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"You're overreacting," I told him.

"Oi!" Luffy waved vigorously as he approached.

"What do you want?" Zoro stared at Nami.

"Two thousand beli," Nami said.

"What?"

"The price for talking rudely to me," She smiled happily. She turned to me. "I stole something great today."

"Oi! Don't go pricing our conversations!" Zoro snapped at her.

"What did you steal?" The two of us ignored him.

"I stole," Nami reached into her pocket, "Two tickets onto a cruise ship. Each ticket allows one couple onboard."

"So you want us to come too?"

"Well, going for a week-long cruise alone with Luffy seems like a bit much. Our trip would revolve around the buffet table. But there's a spa, and a library, and a fully equipped gym. The beds are supposed to be the most comfortable on the sea."

"Sounds great," I grinned, taking a ticket from her. "Oh, all-features included, Nami? You're a big spender."

"What can I say? My hands go for the most expensive things in anyone's pockets," She smiled. I didn't doubt that.

Luffy chuckled, bending down while holding onto her arm to observe an orange worm that struggled helplessly on the stone street. He picked it up with one hand, but when it sunk its teeth into him, he threw it into the water, frowning deeply.

"I'm not going," Zoro crossed his arms.

"Then we'll invite Sanji instead," Nami said without missing a beat. "He'll appreciate it."

Zoro scowled.

"So it's settled," Nami placed her hands on her hips. She pushed Luffy's hand that had been touching the worm away from her when he tried to pick up her hand. Realizing what was going on, he wiped his hand on his shirt, causing her to frown as she went on, "Pack tonight, the cruise leaves early tomorrow."

"We'll be there," I told her as she pulled Luffy away by his wrist, still refusing to touch his hand.

"Do we have to?" Zoro muttered.

"Think," I told him, wrapping my arms around his neck and smiling deviously. "One room, the two of us…"

He cracked a smile, "I guess it can't be so bad then."

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

"Why are you packing?" Usopp asked, watching me rustle through Luffy's locker.

"We're going on a trip," Luffy grinned, sitting beside me on the floor.

"Are we coming?"

"No," I told him flatly.

"Why not?" He whined.

"Yeah, why not?" Chopper chipped in.

"It's a couple's cruise," I told them, not mentioning the option for lone passengers.

"So Zoro and Robin are going?" Usopp frowned. "Brooke was packing earlier too though, after hearing we'd be here the full two weeks it'd take to set the log pose."

"Brooke?" I murmured, holding one of Luffy's shirts to my chest as I paused to think of what he could be up to. He was the Soul King, after all. I folded the shirt and placed it in the bag. "Well, maybe he has a concert or something to do across the island."

"That's reasonable," Chopper nodded.

"I once had a concert to perform," Usopp said, bringing his shoulders back and down in an air of a confident lie. "All across the stadium fans were cheering me on: _Usopp, Usopp, Usopp _–"

"Really?" Chopper's eyes widened.

"No," Luffy and I both said in unison. I smiled at him as I placed more of his clothes into the bag.

"So how long will you be gone?" Usopp asked.

"A week," I said, brushing a hair out of my face. I stopped for a moment when I realized something. They'd need money for that week I was away. I pulled out a couple of the wallets I'd stolen today, taking out most of the beli and shoving it in Usopp's and Chopper's hands. "Use this as you will."

"This is more than you've ever given me at a time," Usopp's eyes popped out of his head.

"Well, it's a week's worth," I said, pulling my shirt down as I stood up. I bent down to grab the bag, but Luffy grabbed it instead as he got up.

"You still have to pack, right?" Luffy said.

"Yeah," I told him.

"Are you going to use this bag too?" Luffy asked, looking at all the space that remained. Luffy didn't really have much to bring.

"If you don't mind," I said.

"You guys make me sick," Usopp said, falling onto his hammock bed as he began counting his money. "Are you really not testing us by giving us so much money?"

"Usopp, the idea hadn't even crossed my mind," I told him. It honestly hadn't. A week's time away meant they needed a week's worth of money. I wasn't going to deprive them of food or anything else they needed to buy for either entertainment or necessity for upgrading their weapons or supplying their inventory.

"Is it in your mind now?" Usopp asked cautiously.

"Well, yeah," I scoffed. He had, after all, just said it.

"So you are going to test us!" Usopp jumped to his feet. "Then I don't want this money!"

"I'd be happy to take it back, but I'm not testing you, Usopp," I told him as I walked to the door. "Let's go, Luffy."

"I'm excited," Luffy said happily as he followed me out of the room.

"For the all-you-can-eat buffet?" I asked.

"Well, that's part of it," He grinned.

"And what's the other part?" I climbed up the stairs.

"I'm rooming with you, right?" He said, causing me to stumble. He placed a hand on my back to steady me. He couldn't mean – "So we're going to have fun all night, right?"

"What kind of fun?" I asked, trying to very his meaning.

"Well, cards and stuff," Luffy shrugged. "It doesn't matter as long as we both have fun."

I closed my eyes and smiled as we opened the door to the women's quarters.

"Mm," I agreed. "We'll have fun just as long as we're together."

"Shishishi. Of course!"

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"This is stupid," Zoro said, reading the back of the ticket. "No weapons onboard?"

"You'll be fine without your katana for a while," I told him. "We'll get Franky to store them someplace safe."

"It's still stupid," He crossed his arms and sunk down onto my bed. I zipped up my bag and brought it over beside my bed, crawling on top of him so that my face hovered over his. He watched my face for a moment. "You really want to go? With Nami gone, this room is open for the both of us too."

"But then we have Sanji, Usopp, Brooke, Chopper and Franky around," I pointed out. "They're sure to interrupt us."

"Two perverts and the three idiots," Zoro closed his eyes and sighed. He looked tired. I really think that this break would do him good. He'd been really tense lately. He opened his eyes and rose up on his elbows to kiss me. "I'll go. For you."

"We'll have fun," I promised him.

"We have fun regardless," He smiled against my lips.

I held the kiss a moment before getting up, hearing Luffy's and Nami's approach. I watched as Zoro rose to a sitting position just as the door opens. Nami paused seeing us being so close to each other, but continued to come in, going to her closet where Luffy set down a half-full bag.

"Done packing?" Nami asked.

"Zoro will do his own packing later tonight," I told her, sitting beside him on the bed.

"Nami, the money," Luffy reminded her.

"Oh, yeah," Nami got up and went to her treasure chest beside her bed. She opened it and took out some of the money and handing it to Luffy as she counted it out. "Sanji, Franky, Brooke… That should be fine."

"I'll go give it to them," Luffy took the money and left.

While this exchange was going on, I took the initiative to pack some of Nami's panties into what appeared to be Luffy's bag from a bird's eye view.

I figured, why not cause a little chaos?


	2. Boarding the Ship

**A/N:** Well, as much as I hate to say it, I probably won't be updating this story -or any story/one-shot, for that matter -for the next week. I'll probably do a quick one-shot of "Of Dreams, Clouds and Mikans". But after that, it's a week until my next update.

I practically just said the same thing, but phrased it different. I wonder how many of you actually noticed that. :P

ANYWAY, I'm in the middle of moving, so the internet will be disconnected tomorrow and Wednesday, Wednesday and Thursday we start moving into the other house, and Friday is cleaning day of the house we're currently in, and then Saturday will be unpacking day. It's going to be a busy week. -_-.

This being said, I probably won't be responding to reviews until Saturday evening or so, but I'll need the joy of reading them after such a long week, so feel free to review! :)

Just kind of sprung that on you all, didn't I? XD

Don't hate me. This is life.

Polls for the other story that I'll be writing simultaneously will be open all week. Looks like Robin getting preggers is in the lead though :P Which is fine. I have some great ideas on where I want to take that story.

But, here's chapter one! Poor Luffy... :)

Enjoy~!

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Boarding the Ship <strong>

_Nami_

"Your hat."

"Eh?"

I sighed, reaching up and taking it off his head. "It's probably best if we leave it here."

"Why?" He went to take it back. I let him.

"If it's found out that you're _straw-hat_ Luffy, doesn't that just kind of ruin our trip?" I put my hand on my hip.

"Then you wear it," He said. "I don't want it out of my sight."

"Luffy, we'll get Franky to put it with Zoro's katana. It'll be safe. I promise," I took his hands in mine. "I thought about this all night. We don't know if there'll be Marines on that ship, or if there will be other pirates –the entire point of going on this trip is to get away from that for a while."

"But I don't want to," Luffy frowned deeply. "I want it with me. It's my treasure. You're taking your money with you –why can't I take my hat?"

"Luffy, I'm not taking all of my money; I just don't know what we need on this trip. This is one of those better safe than sorry measures, alright?" I squeezed his hand gently. "It'll be alright. Franky and everyone will protect your hat with their lives."

Usopp burst into the library, "You really are trying to test us with the money, aren't you!"

"No, Usopp," I rolled my eyes. I went into my desk and pulled out a den den mushi. I had bought it earlier in town. I figured we'd need to establish some kind of communication "Use this to contact us in case of emergency. I have my den den mushi packed, so it should be fine."

"So you're going to check up on us! I knew you were going to keep tabs on us and how we spent our money. I refuse to take it," Usopp crossed his arms and lifted his nose in the air defiantly.

"Then give it to the others," I shrugged. Damn it, he was being a pain in the ass. "Is Sanji still angry?"

"Well, of course he is," Usopp said, lowering his nose.

"He'll be fine," Luffy said, still clutching his hat. He looked up at me. "Nami, I really don't want to leave it –"

"The straw-hat?" Usopp asked. "We'll take care of it for you, Luffy."

Luffy looked at Usopp for a moment before turning back to me. "It's my treasure, Nami."

"You can't wear it on the cruise," I reminded him.

"So you'll wear it!" He held it out to me.

"Luffy."

"Nami," He said.

"Luffy."

"Nami."

"Usopp!" Usopp added suddenly. Luffy and I both glared at him, and he bowed his head in shame. "Sorry, I felt left out."

"It's staying, Luffy," I told him, walking towards the door.

"But Nami~" He complained.

I opened and closed the door, then walked to the ladder, climbing down into the kitchen.

"Stupid… Son of a… I could just…" Sanji was muttering in the kitchen, his back to me. "Going on a… why I would love to just… Flambé… Sauté… Boil them until their skin melts off…"

"Sanji," I got his attention.

He spun around quickly, "Nami-swa~an! How lovely to see you before you leave! Need anything?"

"If there's an emergency, use the den den mushi. You can bring it down into the kitchen, if you'd like."

"You're going to leave me here with all these idiots?" Sanji looked at the door when Chopper and Brooke walked in.

"Well, yeah," I grabbed his hands from over the counter and squeezed it gently. "Who else can I trust to make sure they don't get into trouble?"

"You can trust me, Nami-swa~an!"

"I appreciate it, Sanji," I smiled sweetly at him. "We'll be back in a week."

"It'll be a long week."

"It'll fly by," I told him. "Update me daily, alright?"

Usopp, who had been climbing down the ladder, jumped from the second rung and pointed a finger at me. "You _are_ going to keep tabs of all our spending!"

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"Do I really have to leave them?" Zoro looked at me, holding his three katana in his hands, grasping them tightly.

"It'll only be for a week. No one else on the ship will have weapons either, it'll be fine," I reassured him, walking up behind him and massaging his right shoulder with my left hand gently before leaning my head onto him.

"Maybe I can disguise them, like Brooke's shikomizue," He said.

"Or you can leave them, and Franky will take great care of the," I kissed his cheek, taking his swords gently from his hands and placing them in the locker Franky had constructed.

"I'll make sure nobody touches it."

"See, Luffy?" Nami walked in, dragging our captain with her. "Franky will make sure no one touches your hat."

"But Nami –" Luffy began, but she cut him off by placing her hand over his mouth. She held it there until she had managed to get Luffy's hat out of his hands, then quickly tossed it to me, and I took the initiative to place it in the locker with Zoro's katana. I closed it, and Franky hit lock. Only Franky and I knew the combination for the lock to release, so while Luffy shook and pulled at the handle, nothing happened.

"It'll be there when you get back," Nami promised him. "Now, go get our bags and we'll leave."

He puffed up his cheeks, but left.

"Ever feel like you're dealing with a child?" Franky laughed.

"Hmm?" Nami looked up at him. "Luffy? He has his moments, I guess. He's different when we're alone."

"How different?" I pressed.

"How –?" She repeated, and then flushed a little. "I don't know… just… different."

Franky and I both chuckled.

"I'll go get our things," Zoro said, brushing past Nami.

"I'm going to go and check on Luffy," Nami excused herself, ducking out of the room after Zoro.

Franky and I exchanged glances.

"Seeing her like that makes me forget that she's a witch," Franky said, double checking the lock and the sturdiness of the locker.

"Well, she's a girl," I smiled. "And what's a girl without love?"

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

The cruise ship was large. Larger, and more unique, than nearly any ship I'd ever seen before. I wondered if it were bigger than Moby Dick, the Whitebeard pirate's ship. I had never seen the Moby Dick in person though, so I couldn't really say. I would ask Luffy, but the memory of it probably brought back a few painful memories as well. It was made of steel, and towered over the dock. There were portable stairs going up to the weather deck. I counted the portholes and windows going from sea level and up. Six. So big…

"There it is," I took a deep breath and smiled happily, turning to look at Luffy. If he weren't carrying out bags, I was sure that his arms would be crossed across his chest. "Are you still angry?"

"It's my treasure," he murmured.

"I know, Luffy," I reached down and squeezed his wrist lightly. "Can I do something so that you'll forgive me?"

He paused for a moment, not meeting my gaze. Finally his eyes met mine, and he said, "Kiss me."

"I kiss you all the time," I told him, turning my face away as my cheeks heated up. It was weird to hear those words coming from his mouth.

"But you never kiss me with other people around," He murmured. I felt like I was seeing a brand new side of Luffy. I didn't know what to do. Did I kiss him? Or just brush it off as a joke?

I looked around. Zoro and Robin were looking up at the ship as we got in line to board. Other people walking by were busy making sure they had their things with them, or rushing last moment to get necessities. My heart was beating rapidly with just the thought. It was so easy to kiss him when it was just the two of us.

"Shishishi, just kidding," Luffy said, walking past me. "You don't have to."

"Idiot," I muttered underneath my breath, but I didn't follow him. Instead I clenched my fist, trying to calm my excited heart. I felt a little hurt. I didn't consider myself childish, but maybe I was? Did Luffy see me as childish? Would sharing a room really mean all we would do was play cards and games and talk?

"Nami!" Robin called out. Luffy had reached them, and they were all looking at me. I plastered on a smile, walking over to them. Robin took me in with one glance and asked, "Are you –?"

"I'm fine," I told her. "Just... I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"This ship has Seastone lining the bottom," Robin said, turning her gaze to a brochure in her hand.

"As it should," I murmured. "This ship will be filled with regular citizens. It'd be dangerous for them otherwise."

"Ten decks, seven above the sea level. Three –" Robin looked at Luffy before skipping it and reading something else. I could imagine what she was about to say: _three kitchens, three dining halls_, or something along those lines. "A gym, a grand hall, a cocktail bar with a dance floor… This place has everything that comes to mind."

"And the spa," I stretched, happy just thinking about it.

"And the food," Luffy said, his stomach letting out a long and low growl. "Shishishi. I wonder when we can go to that all-you-can-eat buffet.'

"No stretching your arms, or picking fights," I told him quickly. "That'd also give you away."

"Awe," Luffy pouted again.

"I'm sorry," I said, knowing I was putting a lot of restrictions in a short amount of time. First the hat, now this, he probably hated me.

"Well, you'll be with me," Luffy said after a moment. "So, if I forget, you can just remind me."

"Mm," I smiled at him.

We moved forward with the line. As we waited, Luffy grew steadily impatient. He shifted feet so often that I felt unbalanced just watching him. Zoro started leaning into Robin to express how tired he was of all this already. Robin and I just stood there, moving when we needed to.

And then we were handing our tickets over, receiving our all-access passes, and we were on the ship. A crew member led us down to our room, Robin waved at me as we entered our separate cabins right next to each other. Luffy set our bags down on the floor, then rushed to the window.

"Amazing," He awed, and I came to look up beside him. In reality, it was the same view we took in every day on our Thousand Sunny. But it made me happy that he was excited.

I sat on the bed. It really was comfortable. I lifted up the pillow, squeezed it gently, before setting it back down. Luffy turned to me.

"This is so cool, Nami."

"Mm," I smiled. "It's a nice view. We should get windows this big on our ship."

"Shishishi," He laughed. "I don't think Franky would be happy about redoing the windows. Sunny's fine the way she is."

"Mm," I agreed. I looked at our bags on the floor, then got up and moved them to the bed. I opened the drawers in the dresser and unzipped my bag. It'd be easier to go through them this way when I was planning my outfit for the day.

"I'll help," Luffy said suddenly.

"It's fine," I told him, placing some of my shirts in the drawer.

"I'll help," Luffy said again. He unzipped his own back, and started handing me the clothes that were mine.

"Eh?" Luffy bent down to pick up something that had fallen. I kept putting my clothes away. "Nami? Do you actually wear these?"

"Wear what?" I asked, not bothering to look up.

"_These_," Luffy said. I glanced up to see what he was referring too, and saw him holding a pair of my panties out in front of him. I made a move to grab them, but he jumped away from me. "You know what, Nami? These are kind of… skimpy."

"Stop looking at them," I said, feeling my cheeks go red. "Just give them here, Luffy."

"Is this lace? The girls on Amazon Lily once put lace on my shirt. It was awful. I don't like lace."

"That's fine, Luffy, just give them back, please. I thought I put those in my bag, not yours."

"Are you going to wear these?"

Could my face go any redder? "No!"

"Then, can I keep them?"

"What? Why?" I stopped in my chasing him around the room.

"Eh? Well, Brooke and Franky are always wanting to –"

"Denied," I threw my shoe at him, and then grabbed them from him, shoving them in the drawer and closing it tightly. I quickly looked into his bag and made sure that there were no more surprises like that. "Go with Zoro and find something to eat."

"Are you sure you don't want help?" He asked, grinning like the idiot he was.

"I'm sure. Now get out of here. And don't cause trouble."

I paused for a moment as he left. Trouble. Surprises. My underwear in Luffy's bag. Reason behind it all? Robin.

I was going to kill her.

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

I smiled under the pressure of Zoro's lips. He leaned over me on the bed. He hadn't even waited to look around the room before he had caught my lips with his and led me to the bed. It was too bad that Luffy was coming to take Zoro to go eat. I wonder what he was thinking after seeing Nami's panties.

Oh, that had been funny.

I only wished I could have seen it, and not only heard it.


	3. Out of Routine

**A/N:** Finally finished this... at 12 in the morning :P Woot, go me. I knew I shouldn't have taken that three hour long break to watch TV and quickly run to the store... BUT it's here, the long awaited chapter for this story! I thank you all kindly for your patience. The move went smoothly, I'm unpacked, and while there's a little work around the house to do, it's going well!

Back to updating regularly!

Except after today, this story is now updated every OTHER day, because I'll be starting my second multi-chapter story tomorrow! (cue crowd cheering) I'm pretty pumped. Juggling two major stories back and forth... what a task to take on :P

And then there's the one-shots... I think I'll probably bring that to a close soon. or maybe I'll leave is as incomplete and just update it whenever... I'm not actually sure yet.

Well, I hope you enjoy! Once again, I thank you for your patience! Annnnnnd I can't wait to start the action part of this story! Should be fun, should be fun... XD

Enjoy~

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: Out of Routine<strong>

_Nami_

"I'm still mad at you."

"It was a prank, Nami."

"Well, it wasn't very funny," I said, crossing my arms as we walked down the halls. I had changed into a light, but tight fitting, dress. I mean, I was on an expensive ship. I should dress the part of the rich bitch with an attitude that matched the depth of her wallet.

"It was funny to me," she chuckled. She, too, was wearing a dress.

"I'm not talking to you right now," I turned my head away from her, picking up my walking speed.

"I'm just trying to push you guys further in your relationship," her long legs kept up with me with ease.

"We don't need that kind of embarrassing interference. We'll get there at our own speed," I told her.

"You think you're going to get there when you consider Luffy looking at your panties 'embarrassing'?"

"At our _own_ speed. We'll get there. Eventually," I said, still not looking at her. I was angry. But it wasn't like I could stay angry for long. No harm had _actually_ come out of her prank. Still, it was embarrassing.

We walked in silence for a little.

"Think they found the dining hall?" she said, cutting through the quiet tension.

I gave in, "If they were following Luffy's nose, yes. If they were following Zoro's sense of direction… then no."

"Well, we'll know we're close to wherever they are when we hear Zoro shouting."

Robin and I both chuckled, anger forgotten for the most part. Though not completely.

I looked at the intricate paintings hanging on the wall. They were probably expensive. No, I knew they were expensive. Everything on this ship was expensive. I wondered if there was something smaller that I could sneak off the ship in a week's time.

"This ship must have been expensive to build," Robin said, her fingers gliding along the wall gently as we walked.

"Which makes it surprising that the tickets were free," I grinned.

"Oh, the life of a thief."

"God dammit Luffy! Slow down!" Zoro shouted.

"Told you," Robin grinned.

"Now _that's_ embarrassing," I told her, covering my face with my hands. "They don't know the meaning of keeping a low profile. Can we go to a different dining hall and pretend we don't know them?"

"We should probably make sure they don't get us thrown off the ship," Robin said.

I nodded, following her into the dining hall. It was easy to spot the two of them. I mean, despite being in the corner, they were causing quite the commotion. I was glad I was wearing the dress. It was more like a fancy restaurant rather than a dining hall.

"You two are looking lovely this afternoon," the host greeted the two of us. I glanced at him. "Table for two? Or are you expecting company?"

"No, our company is already seated," Robin told him. "They're the loud ones in the corner."

"_Them_?" he looked at us doubtfully.

"Mm," the two of us nodded, exchanging looks.

"Between you and me, this is the first break they've had in a long time," Robin told him. "They tend to get a bit rowdy."

"But if their volume is going to cause problems –" I began.

"There are no problems," he told me.

"My apologies," I added.

"It's totally understandable," he led us to the table in the corner; "This is a place for the rich to unwind. It is our understanding that everyone has a different way of –ahem –letting loose."

"We thank you kindly for your willingness to accept our rowdiness," I told him.

"And we thank you for dining with us this afternoon," he told me, pulling out my seat for me. He did the same for Robin and walked away. He said a word to the waiter and then went back to the entrance of the hall.

"Hi Nami," Luffy greeted me, swallowing before speaking –thank goodness. "This food's good."

"It's alright," Zoro murmured, looking at Robin.

"I'm happy you're enjoying," I told Luffy. I watched as he reached across the table, stretching his arms only slightly so that his wrist became fully exposed from underneath his long sleeved shirt. I was glad that it was one of his few shirts that didn't hang open loosely.

I glanced around. I didn't scold Luffy, because such a small bit of stretching was hardly detectable. And most people were too concentrated on the amount of food he was stuffing into his mouth rather than the reach he had. Some looked on with disgust, while others actually found it amusing, laughing and chuckling when Zoro would scold him.

I looked at Robin, who was just staring at Zoro with a smile on her lips. The I searched for the eye that was watching over Luffy and me –because this was Robin we were talking about. And Robin was more observant than any of us would ever like to admit.

* * *

><p><em><span>Back at the ship<span>_

"Take the money," Usopp shoved it at Chopper.

"Eh?" The reindeer exclaimed, jumping away. "It's your money, Usopp! Nami said to spend it as you wish!"

"Take the money," Usopp slid it over to Sanji.

"I've already bought food," he exhaled slowly, then put out the cigarette and left it on the edge of his plate. "I don't need money for anything else."

"Take the money," Usopp pushed it towards Franky.

"Okay!"

"No!" Usopp said, bringing it back into him.

"You're paranoid," Sanji said.

"You're paranoid," Chopper agreed.

"You're a jerk, taking back the money after offering it to me," Franky muttered.

Silence.

"So where do you think Brooke is?" Usopp asked.

"Who cares," Sanji leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. "I just want the girls to come back. Would it be too soon to call them on the den den mushi?"

"They're probably not even in their rooms," Franky said. "They're on a cruise. Let them have fun."

"Not too much fun!" Sanji scowled.

"Like there's anything you can do about it now. They set sail two hours ago. They're long gone. Who knows what kind of dirty things they're up to?"

"You BASTARD!"

"So where do you think Brooke is?" Usopp asked Chopper.

"He's probably taking in the sights," Chopper said, cracking a grin. "Get it? Sights? Because he's a skeleton? He has no eyes! Skull joke?"

"Damn it, Nami," Usopp ignored Chopper's attempt at a joke. "Why'd you give us so much money?"

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"We're going to the bar," Nami said, slipping closer to me, grabbing her purse and getting ready to leave. Evening had come, and we'd both changed into evening dresses. Nami's was cut low under the breast and had a large slit up the right leg. It was a deep red. Mine was similar, but a rich purple.

"We'll come along," Zoro said. I was sure he was looking for a good drink. He must have been stressed out with his swords being so far away.

"I want to explore the ship," Luffy said, pouting.

Nami hesitated, and then sighed, "Fine. Luffy and I will explore the ship. You two go on ahead."

"Alright," I said, looping my arm through Zoro's. He looked away, his ears going slightly red.

"You and I will go tomorrow," she told me.

"That's fine," I told her. "We'll find a few guys to dance with."

Zoro scowled. I grinned. Luffy didn't seem to be paying attention. He kept on inching towards the bedroom door, wanting only to go and explore the ship.

"We'll dance with you," Luffy said, stopping to pick at his ear.

"Properly?" Nami raised an eyebrow.

"Sexily?" I added.

"Sure," Luffy said, lifting his chin with confidence as he twisted the doorknob.

"We'll see," Nami rolled her eyes and pushed him gently out the door.

"Bar or bed?" Zoro asked, nearly the moment the door closed.

"Bar," I told him, squeezing his arm gently. "Bar closes at two in the morning, and but the bed will be there all night."

He chuckled, and I smiled, opening the door and began walking through the halls like I had memorized off the maps given in the brochure.

"I don't like this ship," Zoro murmured as we walked.

"Why?" I asked.

"It feels more like a prison to me than a ship."

"Well, I know this certainly isn't the Thousand Sunny, but a prison?"

"Steel walls, no weapons, Seastone lining?" He grumbled. "I don't like it."

"I know," I murmured, rubbing his upper back gently as we walked. "It's just a week Zoro. You'll be fine for a week."

"I still don't like it."

"Just try to have a little fun."

He looked at me.

I smiled again. "I promise I won't go dancing with other guys."

"Fine. I'll _try_ to have a little fun."

"That's all I ask."

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

"What's in here?" Luffy asked, throwing open a large door. I peeked around his frame and saw a gambling room. I'd have to come back here and play a little. "Boring, let's move on."

"Alright," I said, following him as he went. I was just trying to make sure that he didn't get himself into trouble. And it was nice to be out of Robin's sight.

Robin's sight…

My eyes widened and I quickly patted myself down, spinning to make sure that there were no ears or eyes on me. Then I did the same to Luffy, making sure there were no signs of Robin having a presence there.

"What are you doing?" Luffy asked and I walked around him.

"Nothing," I murmured, knowing I must have looked like an idiot.

"I wonder what's in here," Luffy said, already distracted, and going to the next doorway.

His mouth began watering almost instantly.

I grabbed his arm as I walked by, and dragged him away, "You ate enough already today."

"But I'm hungry," he complained.

"We should go up to the weather deck," I said, ignoring him. "I bet it's sunny up there. And maybe we'll find something interesting to do up there."

"But we haven't finished looking around down here!" He said, grabbing a doorway.

"Fine, we'll do what you like –except we're not stopping by the dining hall until morning."

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"This is nice," I commented as we entered the bar. This bar was one of two. This bar had people perform music as others sat, chatted, mingled or just got drunk. I looked around, and then decided on a booth off to the side. I grabbed Zoro's hand and led the way through the people to the other side of the room.

There was a stage, and on top of the stage was a piano. It was shielded in darkness, however, and no performer sat at the instrument. The music that floated through the room came from speakers set throughout the room. People danced in the space given in front of the stage.

The cocktail waitress approached us, and we gave her our order. Zoro glanced around, and then sank down into his seat.

"How're Nami and Luffy doing?" He asked, just assuming I was watching over them.

"I'm giving them some alone time," I cracked a grin.

"Really?" He looked at me somewhat doubtfully.

"Honestly," I told him. "Otherwise, I'm sure Nami would get paranoid. You have to do these kinds things in moderation."

"Hmm," He murmured, the cocktail waitress returning with our drinks. I smelled the contents before taking a sip. I licked my lips gently as a drop escaped in its path between the glass and my mouth.

"You know," I began, but stopped as a figure walked across the stage. I watched as his large head bounced with every step he took, silhouetted against the dim lights that came on shortly. He sat down at the piano, and then looked out into the audience. The rest of the lights came on, revealing the identity of the musician.

"Brooke?" I was genuinely surprised.

"Where?" Zoro asked, then turned and saw him. "What's he doing here?"

"I'm not sure," I admitted.

"_Soul King!"_ People nearby exclaimed.

"_Oh, how wonderful!"_

"_I'm so excited! I wonder what song he'll play first!"_

I smiled at the popularity he possessed, and then faced Zoro once more.

"I suppose we'll have to wait until after his performance to catch up with him."


	4. Sixth Sense and Music

**A/N:** Stayed up late just to finish! It's almost 2 AM :P And then got caught by my dad, forcing me to feign sleep for about five minutes before coming back and silently finishing. Last time I leave my light on in my room past midnight. Lesson learned -though, it shouldn't have to be a lesson learned, considering I am 17. Blah. Parents. Sorry. Rambling :P

Anyway, here it is, like, an hour late, but here nonetheless, and half of you won't notice because you'll be sleeping as I post this anyway, but still. And I'm pretty sure the tiredness crept into that last line there. I couldn't actually sit down and concentrate until about 10:30ish, then I wrote 3 hours straight. Et Voila! C'est fini!

Went a little French there :P

Anyway, hope you all enjoy. The adventure part of this story will be starting soon -well, probably next chapter, actually, which is really the part I want to write the most. Adventure~~

I just realized I haven't done one of my one-shots... Despite having one to edit, but it's not finished, and unnamed. Well, I'll do one today, coinciding with Luffy's birthday and children's day. Woot :)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Sixth Sense and Music<strong>

_Nami_

"Look how far it is down to the water!" Luffy said, hanging over the railing. I rested my hand on his elbow to make sure he didn't fall, and I myself peered over the edge. It was a pretty far fall. It was a good thing I wasn't scared of heights.

"It just means if you fall overboard, Zoro might not be able to save you," I said, and then I paused and corrected myself. "Well, he'd save you, but he'd have a hell of a time getting you back up here. Unless Robin used her powers –never mind. Go ahead. Jump overboard. We'll get you back up here."

"Shishishi," he laughed, leaning back, holding onto the railing and looking up at the orange sky. "Despite being higher, the sky doesn't seem any closer."

I looked up too, "You're right. That's kind of weird, isn't it?"

He reached towards the sky –without stretching his hand –and closed his fingers into a fist, as if grabbing something invisible. He let out a breath and brought his hand back down to rest on the railing.

"This all feels weird…"

"You don't like the cruise?"

"It's not that I don't like it," he frowned, looking at me. "But it feels weird without everybody around."

"It's only a week," I told him, pushing a strand of his hair back behind his ear and then leaning onto the railing on my forearms. "And don't you like just spending time with just the two of us?

"I do," he said, his hand brushing against mine.

I looked at him, and then glanced around us. Quickly, I leaned over and gave him a small peck on the cheek.

"What was that for?" He laughed.

"For going along with my selfishness, I suppose," I clasped my hands together and stared at them as they hung over the endless blue sea. "And you were saying that I never kiss you in public, so –"

He pressed his lips against mine, pulling away before I could do anything. "_That_ was a kiss in public."

"What, is it a contest now?" I snorted, looking away to hide my blush.

"Nah. I just like kissing you," he said, approaching once more. "And if it were a contest, I'm winning."

I frowned, but didn't dare try for a win in the silly competition.

"Is that food over there?" he said suddenly, turning and following his nose.

As he went off, I stared off into the setting sun. Its warm glow settled upon my skin, casting a golden tone that I wished I could have all the time. The gradient of orange to blue was beautiful. I really loved this time of day. Still, though, it represented the end of a day's adventure…

"Want some?" Luffy asked, returning to my side.

I looked at the meat in his hands, and chuckled, "No. I'm fine."

"Alright," he said, shoving the rest in his mouth. "It's pretty."

"Mm," I agreed.

"No. Not the sun –well, that's pretty too, but I was talking about your hair."

"My hair?" I looked at him.

"It's nice in this light," Luffy told me. "Like a burning fire. Memorizing."

"Mesmerizing," I corrected.

"Shishishi," he laughed. "Mm, yeah –that."

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"Sometimes I forget how many fans he has," Zoro murmured, looking at the stage that was swarmed.

"That's right, you don't come into town with us often," I chuckled. "There are always a few fans that find him amongst the crowd. Then again, how hard is it to find a tall skeleton with an afro in a crowd?"

Zoro barked out a laugh, and I smiled wide. I brought the drink to my lips, and watched as Brooke finished his song and got up from the piano bench. He took a bow, and exited, waving to his fans as he went.

"The Soul King, everyone," A man climbed onto the stage, clapping happily, "And our next performer –Suki!"

A girl approached the mike stand, the stage lights dimming once more.

"_The French are glad to die for love_…"

The music picked up, and the stage lights came up, and she strutted to the front of the stage. She was pretty. Sexy, even. Her hair was long, and stylishly messy. Her clothes were revealing and skimpy. Just by standing there she had most of the men in the room staring at her.

"_A kiss on the hand may be quite continental, but diamonds are a girl's best friend.  
>A kiss may be grand, but it won't pay the rental on your humble flats,<em>

_Or help you feed your pussycats._"

The men started howling, and I looked at Zoro to find him watching me. I glanced at the stage to see two pretty back up singers and dancers come onto the stage, which just raised the volume of the hoots and hollers.

"_Men grow cold as girls grow old, and we all loose our charms in the end._

_But square-cut or pear-shaped, these rocks don't lose their shape._

_Diamonds are a girl's best friend._"

"I'll give you diamonds, baby!" Someone shouted.

"She's got them on their toes," I murmured.

"Not all of us," he said, standing up and grabbing my hand. "Let's go see if we can find Brooke.

"Come and get me, boys," Suki winked at the crowd as she turned and walked to the back of the stage. "_Black Star! Ross Cole! Talk to me Harry, tell me all about it!_"

Zoro and I slipped away, trying to find a way to get to Brooke. We exited into the hall, and tried the door to the left, the direction that Brooke had left the stage. We managed to open the door, but a man stopped us there.

"Are you performers?"

"Do I look like a performer?" Zoro snorted.

"We're here to see Brooke," I told the man.

"Who?"

"The Soul King."

"No fans allowed beyond this point," the man said gruffly.

"We're not fans, we're friends," Zoro said.

"Like I haven't heard that one before."

"Tell the Soul King that Robin is here then," I told him. "We'll wait in the hall, if you'd like."

Zoro glared at me for letting the man determine what we could or couldn't do. I rested my hand on his forearm though, and he calmed down.

"No. Wait here," he grumbled, then turned and walked away.

"We have to be good on the cruise," I reminded him as we stood there alone.

"I know."

"Thank you."

"Robin!" Brooke said, coming out of the door across from us. "And Zoro! Yohoho!"

"You didn't tell us you'd be on the cruise," I smiled at him. I could only imagine how Luffy and Nami would react if they knew. Luffy would be ecstatic. Nami would be more than pissed.

"Well, I was planning on staying away from you four lovebirds," Brooke said, glancing at the man. "Let's continue talking outside, shall we?"

"Five minutes, and then you have to be back stage again," A girl said, poking her head out of the door. Brooke nodded.

Zoro opened the door and let me through before him, then followed after me, Brooke taking up the rear. Brooke closed the door tightly behind him.

"We don't mind your company, Brooke," I told him.

"But wouldn't it be suspicious, with the five of us spending time together," he said, leaning against the wall. I realized he was missing his cane. Perhaps they had taken that from him. "The world knows the Soul King is affiliated with the straw-hat pirates. To be seen on a cruise ship would cause you four who are trying to get away for a little while, would be a little… unfair."

Ah, he had a point. I supposed I was a bit like Zoro, forgetting just how famous Brooke really was.

"It doesn't matter, we can take on anybody," Zoro said.

"Well, at least tell us what room you're staying in," I said.

"I'm on one of the higher floors, with the other big performers like Suki. They won't let anyone in unless they're one of the stars."

"So they're spoiling you for a good song," I chuckled.

"They spoil me to the point of death… but I'm already dead! Skull joke! Yohoho!"

The door opened, and the gruff man held it open for Brooke.

"I'll see you later," Brooke said, entering the room.

I waved as the door closed, then headed back towards the bar, pulling Zoro along. "Let's go drink some more. Then we'll return to the room."

Zoro muttered behind me, "You know, I really wonder how he has fans, using those skull jokes of his."

* * *

><p><em><span>Back at the Ship<span>_

"Come on, Franky," Usopp said excitedly.

"You promise to give me the money?" Franky asked.

"We shouldn't be doing this," Chopper murmured. "If they found out –"

"They won't," Franky told him. He turned back to Usopp, "The money?"

"Most of it," Usopp nodded.

"Alright then," Franky said, opening the locker.

Usopp reached in and grabbed Luffy's straw-hat, pushing Zoro's katana away, having no interest in that right away. He pulled of his own hat and set Luffy's on his head.

"So? Do I look like a captain?" Usopp asked, turning to Chopper and Franky.

"He doesn't really pull off the look as well as Luffy does, with that straw-hat, eh?" Franky said to Chopper.

"He's definitely not captain material," Chopper nodded, grinning.

"Oi!" Usopp shouted at them. "You wear it then."

"I wouldn't dare touch Luffy's hat!" Chopper said.

"I would," Franky grinned deviously, snatching it from Usopp and placing it on his own head. "What do you think?"

"I think if Luffy found out what you were doing, he'd be pissed," Sanji said from the doorway. "What do you guys think you're doing?"

The three of them just stared at Sanji.

"Why play with a hat when you can scuff up Zoro's swords?"

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

Luffy and I sat with our feet dangling over the edge of the ship, our shoes lying beside our hands on the deck.

"It's quieting down up here," I murmured, looking back at the dwindling crowd. "Everyone must be going to part inside."

"Eh? Really?" Luffy glanced over his shoulder, and then turned his attention back to the ocean.

"Are you tired?" I asked.

"Nah," he said, and then yawned. "Well, maybe a little."

I laughed, "We can go down to our room, if you'd like."

"Mm," he said, sliding his legs back from underneath the railing. I did the same, and let him pull me to my feet.

As we walked towards the doors, I paused, looking back at the ocean, and frowned.

"Something wrong?"

I didn't reply at first, waiting for further sign of what I thought I'd felt. But things were back to normal. I took a breath and turned back to Luffy. "No. Nothing's wrong. Hey –let's sleep with the window cracked open tonight. I want to be able to feel the breeze tonight."

I paused again.

"And I should probably give Sanji a call. Make sure they're not up to anything."


	5. Tsunami

**A/N:** Chapter 4! Woot! This was actually written quite quickly. If I wasn't in a rush -because I have to go out tonight -then I would probably write a long blurb here.

So I'll leave it at that and just introduce it like I always do:

Enjoy~!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: Tsunami<strong>

_On the Ship_

Sanji reached for the swords, but stopped before his hands could grasp any of the hilts.

"Scared of Zoro's wrath?" Franky chuckled.

"Of course not," Sanji said, straightening up. He turned towards them, his eyes glazed over and a silly look on his face. "It appears that Nami-swa~an is calling."

The three of them watched as he pranced out of the room.

"I didn't hear the den den mushi," Usopp said.

"I did," Chopper said, looking up at him.

"So did I," Franky shrugged.

"You both aren't human!" Usopp snapped.

"Well, I'm a reindeer," Chopper said innocently.

"And I'm a cyborg."

"So of course we aren't human," the two of them said simultaneously. Usopp face-palmed.

"We should probably put the hat back," Chopper said after a moment.

"Mm, so give it to me," Franky said, holding the locker open.

"You were wearing it last," Usopp reminded him.

"That's right," Franky said, reaching up to grab it, but it wasn't there.

"Where'd it go?" Usopp asked, looking around frantically.

"I knew this was a bad idea," Chopper said, also looking around. "There!"

The hat was slowly crawling towards the door.

"How'd it get over there?" Franky asked.

"Why's it moving?" Usopp freaked out.

Chopper rushed forward, "That's not important! Get it!"

* * *

><p><em><span>Sanji<span>_

I picked up the phone and placed it to my ear happily, "Nami-swa~an, what can I do for you?"

"I was just making sure everything was alright," she said, her sweet voice in my ear. "Is everyone doing alright?"

"Everyone's fine," I told her, hearing a noise outside. "And how are you and Robin-chwa~an?"

"We're good. Luffy and I just got back to our room. It looks like Robin and Zoro are still at one of the bars on the ship."

"Stupid Zero," I deliberately messed up his name as I picked up the den den mushi and took it with me to the window. It was dark out, so there wasn't much to see.

"So everything's alright? The guys aren't up to any troublemaking?" She asked, completely ignoring my comment. But that's why she was so amazing.

I caught sight of the three of them running up and down the stairs. I frowned, hating to lie to her, but replied, "No, they're playing cards in the men's quarters the last time I checked."

"So docile?" She chuckled. "Luffy, stop jumping on the bed!"

"You sound like you're talking to a child," I told her, frowning deeper as I remembered who she's with.

She laughed, louder this time, "Aren't I? But this is the first moment he seems to be having fun so far, so it's alright."

"I'm glad you're having fun," I told her.

"Listen, Sanji?" She got quieter. "I have a bad feeling. I'm pretty sure this ship is heading for Kanku'un Island, which is where we'll resupply and then return."

"Then what's the problem?"

She was silent for a moment, "No. It's nothing. It's probably my imagination. If something happens though, I'll make sure to call you."

"If it's you and Robin-chwan, I'm sure everything will be alright."

"Thanks Sanji. Keep the guys in check, alright?"

"Yes, Nami-swan. I love you, and goodnight."

"Good night."

I returned the den den mushi to the table, then threw the door open. "What the hell are you idiots up to?"

"Luffy's hat!"

"It's running on its own!"

I'm sorry, Nami-swan. I leave these idiots alone for five minutes, and this is what happens. I'm not worthy of your love.

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

"This bed is really bouncy," Luffy said, jumping up and down.

"I can see that," I laughed, falling onto my back. I had changed out of the dress and into clothes a little more comfortable, including a sweater for the chilly air coming through the window. Luffy jumped over me, and then fell off the bed.

He bounced back to his feet and laughed, "Shishishi."

"You're an idiot."

"You're my navigator."

"What does that have to do with anything?" I scoffed.

"I thought we were listing reasons why we love each other," he grinned.

It was funny. I knew he wasn't a complete idiot, but moments like that still took me by surprise. I leaned towards him and grabbed his hand, "What else do you love about me?"

"Everything," he said, sitting down beside me

"Everything?" I smiled.

"Mm," he swung around into a lying down position, his head on my stomach. I couldn't see his face over my breasts. "But reasons don't matter. I just love you."

I placed my hand in his hair, shifting through each strand slowly as I closed my eyes, "I just love you too."

"Shishishi," he laughed.

A comfortable silence fell around us.

"Wanna have fun?" Luffy asked suddenly, sitting up.

My heart nearly jumped out of my throat. "Fun?"

"Cards."

"Cards," I nodded, that was more like Luffy.

"Is that a yes?" Luffy asked.

"Mm," I sat up, crossing my legs. "Cards are… in the drawer beside the bed, I think."

He stretched his arm over, pulling it open and reaching inside.

"We should play with a twist," I added, slyly. Maybe Robin was right. It was time to move forward with our relationship a little more.

"Eh? Gambling? I have no money."

"I wasn't talking about gambling with money," I told him, shifting my position so that I was sitting with my legs folded underneath me. "We'll gamble with clothes."

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"Let's go for a walk," I told Zoro, standing up. It was getting really crowded there, and I wanted space.

"Mm," he agreed, standing up. "I could use some fresh air."

I got to my feet, and someone bumped into me from behind, making me nearly fall onto the table.

"Oi!" Zoro called out to the man.

The man kept going, and I touched Zoro's arm. "It's okay. It's not like he meant to. It's crowded here."

He muttered something, inaudible under the sound of the music Brooke was playing now. It was his third time on stage, and the crowd went crazy every time. It took a moment, but Zoro nodded, taking my hand and leading me through the crowd.

"Zoro, the door's the other way," I told him.

"I knew that," Zoro said, turning and walking back.

"I'm sure you did," I murmured.

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

I slipped my arm out of my shirt, ready to pull it off. I had let Luffy win once, but the other times he had one on his own. I had lost my socks, my sweater, and now my shirt. I had managed to get his shirt off, but he had already been wearing less than me. Luck? Skill? Despite knowing him the second longest in the crew, sometimes I felt like I didn't know him at all.

A breeze swept over the two of us, and I shivered, pausing in my movements. There was a change in pressure. Quickly I pulled my shirt back on.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

I grabbed my sweater, "A huge wave is coming."

"So?" he asked.

"It's a _huge_ wave Luffy," I looked out the window. "Big. Gigantic, even. I want to check its direction; otherwise it might overturn the ship."

"I'm coming," he said, slipping into his sandals as I passed him his shirt. I threw open the door and quickly made my way down the hall to the stairs, Luffy following closely behind.

"Close the door and lock it," I reminded him, glancing back.

"Oh, yeah," he said, closing it tightly.

We broke into the open air on the weather deck minutes later. The pressure change was still subtle, but I could feel it. The wind picked up. Women on deck began to shiver, and men led them inside.

"Where's the captain?" I asked a crew member as they passed by.

"If you have any complaints, you should –"

"It's not a complaint," I told him. "There's a tsunami coming. If we don't turn this ship, it's going to hit the portside and overturn this ship completely. _Where's the captain_?"

"The weather's clear, and the water's pretty calm," the man said.

"She's my navigator," Luffy said, his Haki showing through, "She knows what she's talking about. Take us to the captain."

"Y-yes sir, right away," the crew member said, nodding before turning and leading us along.

"Good job," I told Luffy, grabbing his hand and leading him forward, but he remained where he was.

"We should go find Robin and Zoro and tell them," Luffy said.

I wanted him to come with me, but I nodded, letting go of his hand. "I'll go tell the captain. You go find Robin and Zoro. Get them to stand by incase things get bad. But let's hope I get there in time."

He nodded, running off. I hoped he could find them.

"Miss?" the crew member called.

"I'm coming," I told him, hurrying to catch up.

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"Where do you think those two are going?" I asked as we watched Nami and Luffy split up.

"I don't know," Zoro said.

"Nami looked panicked," I said.

"I supposed. Something with the weather?"

"Do you think Luffy was sent to go look for us?" I looked out at sea. I couldn't judge it, even if it were clear. It was definitely Nami's area of expertise. "They don't know about Brooke being on board either."

"I'll go find Brooke, you catch up to Luffy," Zoro said.

"We'll both go get them both," I said, grabbing his shoulder as he began to walk away. "I don't want you getting lost."

* * *

><p>"A <em>tsunami<em>!" I shouted in outrage. Why wouldn't they listen to me? "I'll I'm asking is for you to turn your ship ninety degrees so that it crashes against the bow instead of the portside!"

"Our navigator says that there's nothing coming," the captain said.

"Your navigator is _wrong_," I snapped at him. "I know how to read the weather, and I know how to read the waves, _better_ than anyone else!"

"Someone, get her out of here," he dismissed me with a wave of his hands.

"Uh, captain?" someone said, looking out the window. I looked over too. Its approach was slow and inevitable; a haunting doom on the horizon. I grabbed the helm, turning it hard to port. In panic, however, the helmsman pushed me aside and started turning to starboard –as if we could get away from such a disaster.

"Incompetent fool," I muttered, getting up and trying to shove him out of the way, "If we can just get the bow to break through the waves we'll be fine."

I was thrown aside once more.

"Idiot!" I shouted. I looked at the captain, "Get your men in check before they kill us all!"

I looked out the window once more. At this rate it didn't matter. It was going to strike, and we would capsize. I rushed out of the room, I needed to find Luffy. I had to make sure he didn't fall into the water. Because I would make sure we survived this.


	6. Capsized

**A/N:** I had the majority of this finished yesterday -and then I went to watch Poseidon -which if you didn't know, is where the idea came from. Consider it research :P And I hope this research did this part -the capsizing -justice :)

Lights go out~

Bodies remain still, awkward in their positioning~

Who's all okay? Who will survive?

Let the adventure begin~!

Well, enjoy :)

* * *

><p><strong>Capsized<strong>

_Nami_

"Luffy!" I called out, running down the hallway. I slid into a wall as I turned the corner. This ship was slanted as the helmsman turned hard to port. It seemed like the captain had finally gotten him into a right set of mind. It didn't matter though. I pushed off and started running again. "Luffy!"

"Nami! This way," Luffy called as I ran down another hallway. Robin and Zoro were with him.

"Where are you going?" I asked, hurrying towards them. "We need to go down and call Sanji. We need him and Franky and Usopp and Chopper to all come and get us as fast as possible."

"What's actually happening?" Robin asked.

"Luffy hasn't told you?" I asked.

"Do you think Luffy actually understands the situation?" Zoro muttered.

"I told you. A wave," Luffy said.

"A big wave," I corrected. "And it'll capsize the ship any moment now. It's coming. Quickly."

"Calm down, we still need to get Brooke," Robin said.

"Brooke's here?" I said. "Oh great. Three devil's fruit users. You guys do that –but I'm going to run downstairs with Luffy. Robin, lend me an ear, and we'll discuss where we can meet up afterwards."

"Alright," she said, grabbing Zoro's arm and taking off. I took Luffy's hand, pulling him back down the hallway and heading for the stairs that led down to our room, telling Robin about the situation as we went. As we entered, I rushed to the window, closing and locking it before I rushed to the den den mushi.

"Where are you?" I muttered after he didn't pick up. Where was everybody? We needed someone to pick up. Was something wrong over there? They should know better than to get into trouble when we were about to capsize over here!

"Maybe they're out?" Luffy suggested.

"Luffy, you should be more panicked than this," I told him, forgetting about Robin completely. "We could all die. Drown! And we don't have anybody that can save us if our nakama don't pick up the. Damn. Den. Den. Mushi!"

"It's okay," Luffy said, wrapping his arms around me. "I'll protect you."

"You can't even swim. And if you haven't noticed –we're in the middle of the sea."

"I'll still protect you," he squeezed me tightly, and despite the extremity of the situation, I relaxed a little bit. Until I felt the ship tilt –and not just because of the helmsman. Luffy and I both slid off the bed.

"Luffy," I said, gripping the front of his shirt. "I'm sorry for dragging you on this cruise."

"It's okay, Nami," Luffy said, his left arm still around me as he held onto a piece of furniture. "Everything will be okay."

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"Where's Brooke?" I asked the same bodyguard from before.

"Who?"

"The Soul King," I snapped at him, my patience dwindling thin as I listened to Nami panicking. She knew the sea, and if this gave her cause for worry, it gave us cause for worry. "Hurry up and get him, tell him it's urgent."

"What are you doing?" Zoro asked me, just shoving the guy to the side and stepping forward.

"You can't go back th–"

"A tsunami is going to hit this ship, and we want to speak with our friend," Zoro glared at him. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Ro-ro-roro-ro-ro," The bodyguard seemed to recognize him.

"Keep going," I pushed Zoro on. "Let's find Brooke –and fast."

We hurried into the back room, but it appeared that Brooke was on the stage. But we couldn't just sit there and wait for him to finish –and Zoro had the same idea. Despite the protests of crew members, Zoro marched up on stage, grabbing Brooke by the collar and yanking him back. To stop them from rioting –and with Brooke's popularity, a riot was quite possible –a crew member had to rush on stage and say that Brooke had urgent business to attend to. There were loud protests, but we ignored them as we dragged Brooke along.

"What's going on?" Brooke asked, sensing the seriousness of the situation as we dragged him along.

"The ship's going to flip," I explained to him. "Nami's even panicking, because the ship is at a weird angle for the wave to hit."

"_Luffy, you should be more panicked. We could all die. Drown! And we don't have anybody that can save us if our nakama don't pick up the. Damn. Den. Den. Mushi!_"

"Are you serious?" Suki asked as we passed her.

"_I'll protect you_."

"I advise you get to a secure place where you don't have the risk of objects crushing you," I told her as we passed.

"_You can't even swim, and if you haven't noticed –we're in the middle of the sea._"

"Wait –I don't know where my friend disappeared to!" She called after us.

"_I'll still protect you_."

"We have our own friends to worry about," Zoro grumbled back at her.

"We're going to die, aren't we?" Suki said. She closed her eyes, "Oh, god, we're all going to die."

"We're not going to die!" Brooke said to her.

"Well, you won't," Suki said, wiping tears that came to her eyes. "You're already dead."

"This is no time for jokes," Brooke said.

"We need to get going –meet up with Nami and Luffy," I said, looking at Zoro who took the hint and continued to drag Brooke along.

We were barely out into the hall when we started sliding into the wall. Zoro released Brooke and grabbed me instead, protecting me as we hit the wall. Initial impact of the wave before the actual tsunami. We slid to the other side of the hall, and my hip hit the doorknob, as the ship came back down with the wave.

It was only a short instant before the tsunami hit though, throwing us back hard as the ship rolled in the sea. We were flung around in the small hallway like dolls, unable to hold onto anything.

"_Luffy –I'm sorry for dragging you onto this cruise."_

"_It's okay, Nami. Everything will be okay."_

"_I won't let you die, Luffy. We'll make it through this."_

"_Shishishi, I know."_

* * *

><p><em><span>On Deck<span>_

"Why is the ship turning so hard?"

"They mustn't have been paying attention to the log pose."

"This is ridiculous. There's no way to relax on a ship that's tilted like this. When they started I was slammed into the railing. I'll more than likely have a bruise in the morning. I'm going to take it up with the captain tomorrow."

"And you should –Hey, what is that?"

"What?"

"That in the distance."

"That wall?"

"There're no _walls_ in the middle of the sea."

"Then what do you think it is?"

"It's a wave!" Someone called out as they ran past. "Get inside, or else you'll be swept overboard with the pressure!"

Panic erupted. There was shouting and screaming as the wave steadily approached. Even if they all made it inside, the pressure would surely crack the windows. But they all tried –they raced towards the entrances, trying to beat the others in. One man got trampled in the mix. No one cared –their animal instincts had awakened. Survival was the only thing on their mind.

* * *

><p><em><span>On the ship<span>_

"Where'd the hat go?" Usopp cried out.

"Why'd Sanji go to town again?" Franky asked, opening his stomach and taking out a cola.

"To get an eternal log pose to the island that Luffy, Nami, Robin and Zoro are going to dock at," Chopper said.

"Could you guys try to be concerned?" Usopp complained. "We're going to be so dead when Luffy finds out we lost his hat."

"We decided a while ago we'd blame it on you," Franky reassured him.

"Oh, okay –Oi! That's not fair! You were the one who opened the locker! You'll be blamed nonetheless!"

"Damn it," Franky muttered, returning the empty bottle to where it came from.

"It's not like we'd let the hat remain lost either way," Chopper said, glancing around. He looked up, pointing. "There it is!"

"The phone," Franky said.

"We're busy," Usopp said, starting to climb the ropes of the mast up to the hat. "We need to get that hat!"

"We know that it's Nami," Chopper said. "She'll be angry if we don't answer."

"She'll be angry if she finds out we opened the locker and the hats running around on Sunny," Usopp muttered.

"We should answer," Chopper glanced towards the kitchen. He hesitated a moment before running off.

"Oi! Chopper!"

"Let him get it," Franky said.

"He's the worst liar out of the three of us!" Usopp said. "Damn that Sanji for running off. If he were here, with his incredible speed we could have caught this thing by now!"

"Usopp, it's going on the run again," Franky said from below.

"Damn it! Chopper, if it's urgent she'll call again! Help me!"

"But –"

As he reached for the door handle the den den mushi stopped going off.

"Chopper! Oi!"

Well, if it were important, she'd call again... right?

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

Luffy gripped the bed, which was bolted to the floor, keeping the both of us from being tossed around the room. My face was pressed to his chest, my back against the bed. I had my arms wrapped around his torso. Behind him I could hear the drawers slid open and fall out, crashing against the floor –well, the wall. The door slammed shut. A lamp broke. The cards flew by us. I couldn't tell which way was up.

In the distance I could hear screaming. Part of me wondered how many people were dying in that instant.

Then, for a moment everything stopped. I looked out to the side, between Luffy and the bed. Everything was settled against the wall with the door. The boat was lying on it's side. Had it stopped? No. A boat wouldn't remain on its side. It would either roll back onto the heavy hull and bring it back to an upright position, or the water –that was more than likely rolling in at this very instant –would overturn the ship.

Explosions came from deep within the ship. More screams. Then there was creaking from the strain on the ship as it rolled over. I closed my eyes. As much as I wished the ship would return to an upright position, I couldn't deny reality.

The two of us hung there, upside down, waiting for something to happen.

But nothing did.

Luffy slowly lowered the two of us to the flo- I mean roof. I looked around at the mess. Clothes –my clothes- lay across the room in a mess. I picked up a shirt, and then glanced at Luffy, who was watching me.

He asked, "So what do we do now?"

"We keeping trying to get contact Sanji, and when we do, we'll then go and meet up with the oth– Oh, shit! Robin. Where did her ear go?"

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"Zoro?" I looked up at him.

"I'm alright," he grunted, releasing me.

"Good," I said, taking his face in my hands and kissing him quickly. I looked over at Brooke. "Still alive?"

"Yohoho! Dead as a skeleton! Skull joke! Yohoho!"

"I take it you're alright," Suki groaned, pushing herself to her feet. She was shaking so terribly that Brooke had to lend her a hand.

"Are you okay, Suki-chan?" Brooke asked her.

"Why couldn't you protect me like he protected her?" She complained.

"My deepest apologies, the thought didn't occur in the moment of panic," Brooke bowed slightly.

"Not that you have a brain to think with," Suki muttered, still quivering.

"Oh! Skull joke! Yohoho! You're good," Brooke laughed.

"Last thing we need is two of them dishing out these idiotic jokes," Zoro muttered. "Can I kill one of them now?"

"You can't kill Brooke, he's already dead," Suki said, her tense body relaxing as she realized she was still alive and uninjured.

"Skull joke! Yohoho!"

"Heehehe," Suki laughed quite femininely.

"That leaves only one option," I told Zoro.

"Mm. The girl."

"The girl has a name," she said boldly, then shrunk down behind Brooke, "But please don't hurt me. I'll stop."

"Suki, right?" I said.

"Mm,"

"Are you going to come with us or try to find your friend?"

"Can't I do both?" she asked timidly.

"Only if your friend is above the rising water," I told her.

"She's down a few –I mean, up a few levels," She said, looking up at the floor.

"Then let's get going. We have to go down first, however, for nakama."

"I understand," she told me.

"Good. Then let's go."

The lights went out suddenly, and Suki bit back a scream -though there were other screams let out elsewhere on the ship. Despite the new handicap, we kept moving forward. We had our nakama to catch up to. Somewhere along the tumbling I had removed my ear from wherever Nami was unintentionally. But I knew they'd be fine. Luffy was rubber, and like he had said before the tsunami hit, he'd protect her. And Nami would know to stay in one place until we all met up.

The only thing there really was to worry about was whether or not the den den mushi was able to be used.

Otherwise, the water wasn't going to be our problem –it'd be our outcome.

And it wasn't an outcome I wanted to meet.


	7. A Call for Help

**A/N:** I know I said I'd update this story on Friday during my author's note in "_Of Dreams, Clouds and Mikans_", but you would not believe how tied I was when I got home from school that day. I spent the entire day teaching little kids about forensic science (more specifically fingerprints and impressions), because Forensic Science is one of my classes this semester. Even though it was a relatively easy day, it completely drained me of any energy I had. I went to bed three hours earlier than I do any other night :P

As for yesterday, I spent my time outside, soaking up some sun rays and working up a tan on my pale skin... Or so I wish. :/

As you can remember, I moved recently, and this weekend my dad was finally home, and it was spent building rooms in the basement of our new house (or at least the frames of the walls and laying out the cushioning for the carpet). If teaching kids drained me emotionally and mentally, this weekend drained my physically. I'll have to save tanning for another day... :P

So even though this chapter is completely delayed, I hope you enjoy! :)

* * *

><p><strong>A Call for Help<strong>

_Luffy_

"Come on," Nami muttered, still trying to contact Sanji on the den den mushi.

I folded my hands behind my head and looked around. Nami's clothes and the cards we'd been playing with were lying across the floor. I picked one of her shirts off the ceiling light and touched the bulb. It was still hot, but it wouldn't work anymore. Nami said the power wouldn't work at all.

I looked up, at the bed that was bolted there, and stretched my arm to grip the leg. I let myself hang from there, waiting for Nami to finish up so we could find the others.

"Luffy, can you st– Sanji?" Nami straightened up immediately.

"_No, Nami, it's Chopper_." The den den mushi's mouth moved, and our doctor's voice came out.

"Oh, Chopper –where's Sanji? Or Franky?"

"_I don't know where Sanji went, into town? But Franky's busy right now._"

She scoffed, "Busy? What do you mean busy? Tell them to get on the damned phone or else I'll –" she said a lot of bad things in a row.

"Shishishi," I laughed.

"_Sanji! He's back!_"

"–What? He's back? Then put him on!" she said, tapping her finger against her knee as she crossed her legs, sitting on a pile of overturned drawers. "Sanji?"

"_Nami-swa~n_!"

"Sanji –now's not the time for jokes, I need you to go into town and buy an eternal pose to… to the island we're heading to… Um, what was it…" Nami never forgot the names of islands. I lowered myself to the floor and sat beside her on the ground, remaining silent as I held her hand. "Oh, yeah, Kanku-un Island. Get a pose for –you already have it? Oh, thank goodness. Then get over here. Please… A tsunami hit the ship and we've capsized… um, I don't know how long it'll take to sink, but we have two –no, three devil's fruit users here…"

"_Three? Is that where Brooke disappeared to?_"

"Yeah, Brooke's here."

Her face turned into a scowl before she snapped –"Can you just get going?"

She threw the mouthpiece away from her face and put her head in her hands, shaking my hand off. I placed my hand on her back, not knowing what else to do, and moved it slowly up and down.

She shuddered, before standing up suddenly, "Let's go. We have to find Robin and Zoro."

"Nami," I began.

"I'm fine, Luffy," she said, not turning towards me. She reached her hand back though, and I grasped it. I could be wrong, but I was pretty sure I heard a 'thank you'.

"Shishishi."

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

Now that I was done calling for help, all Luffy could do was talk. I let him though. The eerie silence of the ship, save for the unnatural creaks and occasional crashes in the distance as things.

"I'm hungry," Luffy said suddenly.

"You're always hungry," I said, glancing back at him.

"Can we eat after we find everyone?"

"We have to keep moving, Luffy, we need to get as high as we can. Right now that means the hull."

"So no food?" he grumbled.

"Yes."

"So we will have food," his face lightened up so much.

"No, Luffy, that's not what I –" I sighed when his face began to drop. "We'll see, alright? I'm not promising anything."

"Shishishi, alright," he said, folding his hands behind his head. Strange, how he could be so calm in such a terrifying situation. No. I had to stop thinking like that. We'd get through this. We'd get through this… We had our dreams to accomplish, and for people that were aiming as high as we were in the world, to end it here would be lousy. Yes, we'd definitely make it. We had to. We would.

My grip tightened with my renewed determination. There used to be this girl in Cocoyashi village that would always have three periods of panic. Once when she knew it was going to happen, another when it was actually happening, and a third time when she realized the consequences of the situation. I never thought I'd be the same. And I knew I was being ridiculous. What's done is done and I just had to take the next step to overcoming it.

But this wasn't something I had ever prepared myself for. Sure, I knew it happened to others. But I was a navigator, the best there is, and I would never have let us get into this situation in the first place had I been the one guiding us through these waters.

If I had been guiding us through this sea… but I hadn't been. It was a fact that I had to accept.

"This way," I said, squeezing Luffy's hand as I turned the corner.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You know we'll be fine, right? Sanji, Usopp, Chopper and Franky are on their way."

"I know," I told him, stopping and turning to face him. "I know… I do. But I don't want anything bad to happen to you, Robin, Zoro or Brooke. And I know I probably keep repeating myself, but I can't help it. We're in the middle of the ocean. You four are so strong, but if this ship sinks, even that strength means nothing –except Zoro, because, he's, like, some badass demon. But even he can't swim forever."

"We'll be okay, Nami. We have you. I know you'll get us out of this mess. If anyone can think of a way, it's definitely you," he grinned.

"Thank you," I said, taking a step closer to him and resting my forehead on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around me, and my unsteadiness in the situation vanished completely. I couldn't let him down.

And not letting him down also meant finding him something to eat eventually.

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"So how many different routes are there to get to your friends room?" Suki asked.

"Quite a few, but since we lost contact with her, we can only hope that she's staying in one place," I murmured, looking down a long dark hallway as we passed. Some of the floors had fallen down, blocking paths –not like it mattered with either of our groups. Nami had Luffy, and we had Zoro. There wasn't really much to hold us back.

"It's Nami," Zoro muttered, "There's no way she's going to stay in one place in a situation like this."

"Like I said, we're hoping," I smiled half-heartedly at him.

"It's useless to waste hope on something like that," he shrugged.

"In a situation like this, there's no such thing as wasted hope," Suki mumbled.

"Mm," I agreed, though there were better things to hope for and worry about than Nami straying on this ship.

"My violin!" Brooke said suddenly.

"What about it?" I asked, glancing at him.

"It's up in my room –which is now below our feet, mind you," he said, coming to a stop.

"Leave it," Zoro said, "You can always buy a new one."

"You must be kidding," Brooke glowered. "To leave my violin is like leaving Chopper alone in a mix of wolves. It simply can't be done."

"So what do you plan to do? Who knows how high the water level is in the ship. It could already be done for."

"Let me go and check –and then I'll be able to tell you how high the water is. Nami should be able to do something with that kind of information, right?"

"He's right," Suki said helplessly. "And I left my late mother's ring in my room. I took it off to make sure I didn't lose it, it's slightly big on my finger and it always slips off."

"Well, it's still going to be lost in the messes the rooms have become," Zoro said.

"I can't just leave my mother's ring," Suki said, taken aback.

"Robin, I'll take Suki down there, we'll come right back, I promise," Brooke said.

"Well, you're not going alone," I told them.

"You're not going down there with them," Zoro said. "It's too dangerous."

"I'm not going down," I smiled at him.

"Then –no." Zoro held up his hands. "I refuse to."

"Zoro," I took his hand in mine. "If the water is rising quickly, there's no way that I'll be able to help both Suki and Brooke. Only you can do that."

"Robin," he growled, his eyes telling me that he didn't want to do this, whether because he wanted to be with me, or even just because he thought it was a stupid idea. He looked away for a moment.

"I'll be fine," I told him. "I'll be sure to meet up with Nami, and we'll meet up at... oh, where should we meet up? Luffy will probably be hungry… Lowest floor dining hall?"

"I'll lead the way," Brooke said reassuringly, "Although I'd make the trip faster had I been travelling alone."

"Last thing we need is you falling like a hammer through the sea water," I looked to Zoro. "Please, Zoro."

He didn't say anything for a moment before uncrossing his arms with a sigh and a small shake of his head, "Fine. Though I think this is ridiculous."

"That's fine, I –" he cut me off with a kiss, and I couldn't help but smile beneath his lips. He pulled away, kissing my forehead quickly. I grinned, "I'll make it up to you."

"You better," he said, beginning to turn, but I grabbed his arm.

"One second," I began.

"There'll be plenty of time for you two to act all lovey-dovey when we come back," Suki began.

"Actually, I find it quite sweet," Brooke said.

"Not that you can taste anything," Suki suppressed a giggle.

"Yohoho! Skull joke! Oh, you really are so good at that!"

"Thank you," Suki smiled.

"No," I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms. Ears appeared on all of them. And then lips. Suki couldn't suppress her surprise. I gripped Zoro's hands. "This time I won't break the connection, no matter what happens."

"It's not like I'll get lost," Zoro snorted.

Brooke and I looked at each other, but said nothing.

"Anyway, off you go," I said, breaking the silence. "See you guys soon. Be quick."

Poor Zoro. I wondered if he'd remain ignorant forever…

* * *

><p><em><span>Sanji<span>_

"Oi! Idiots! Let down the sails! We have to go save Robin-chwan and Nami-swan!" I called out, stepping out of the cabin.

"Busy!" Usopp called, running past me. I barely flinched. But I did stick out my foot and watched as he tripped. Franky came running by, leaping over Usopp and continuing to chase Luffy's hat.

"You are not busy, you are helping me," I glared down at Usopp.

He gulped drily, looking off in the direction Franky had disappeared. "But Luffy's hat –"

Luffy's hat came around the corner again, and this time I kicked it into the wall opposite of the kitchen –the women's quarters. The hat hit the door which in turn flew open, and Chopper who was nearby, closed it before the hat could escape. Franky hurried over to seal it shut.

"Now do you have any objections?" I pulled out my pack of cigarettes, sliding one from the package before putting it away.

"N-no," Usopp said, getting up. "Though I could have done the same thing myself –I was just having fun with the hat."

"Sure," I lit the smoke and rolled my eyes. "Franky! Anchor! Chopper! Helm! And you, Usopp. Go lower the sails."

"Fine," the sharp shooter headed for the mast reluctantly.

"What's happening anyway?" Franky called out.

"The cruise ship capsized," I said. "We're going to go save Nami-swan and Robin-chwan."

"Capsized?" Franky said, surprised. "It looked like a sturdy ship from afar, with its weight distributed evenly."

"How and why doesn't matter. What matters is that we save Nami-swan and Robin-chwan."

"And Luffy and Zoro," Usopp added.

"No, the muscle head can die."

"I'm telling him you said that," Usopp said, sticking out his tongue from up the mast.

"That's fine," I shrugged.

I brought the cigarette to my lips once more, inhaling, then exhaling slowly, watching as the smoke twisted and turned, before becoming invisible in the air around me.

"I'll even tell him myself the moment he steps onto this ship."


	8. Realization

**A/N:** Chapter 7! A bit shorter than I would have liked, but I think it was a good place to stop for now. I'll be picking this story up as my main multi-chapter after this coming weekend, so there will be more rapid updates and such. Actually, I spent the last two hours watching Poseidon before finishing up this chapter. Research, what can I say :P It helps me get back into the mindset of this story :P

Jumping back and forth between two major stories kinds of throws me off, which I feel is part of the reason why my updates haven't been as consistent (I mean, I used to update one-shots AND multichapter stories daily!) ... I write pretty quickly, but jumping back and forth puts me back a step, and I have to work double time to figure out where to take the story from where I left it off (because as some of you may know, I seldom plan far ahead in my stories save for the general path I want to take the story).

Anyway, I hope you enjoy, aaaannnd don't be afraid to review! :)

* * *

><p><strong>Realization<br>**

_Robin_

I know that the violin and ring should not have taken top priority. I knew that, but still I had let them go. I had to. I knew how much that violin meant to Brooke, and I knew how much a mother's memento could mean. Not that I would know –I had no memento of my own mother. Nothing but a fading memory.

But I knew that if it were Zoro that had left his swords behind, he'd go back to get them in a heartbeat. So what difference did it make when Brooke was getting something just as precious to him as the three katana were for Zoro?

Still, I was worried. How fast was the water rising? How soon would we be saved?

I walked along, slowly, stepping over broken shards of glass that came from the lights. If I were Nami, where would I head?

My first assumption would be a kitchen, for Luffy, but I knew that was wrong because with Nami, food would be the last thing on her mind. Was she even heading in a certain direction? Not to mention it was like a maze within the hallways.

Eventually I found a map on the wall, and analyzed it. There were four staircases from this floor to the one above and one below. Zoro and the others just went down one, so that meant checking out the other three. I looked around, before stripping out of my shirt, wrapping it around my arm and raising my elbow and breaking the glass that covered the map, keeping it in good condition. I winced as shards dug through the fabric and into me, but as I drew away I took the map. The glass had bolts that could probably be easily unscrewed, but I couldn't be bothered with it at that moment.

I rolled up the map, tucking it under my arm as I walked so that I could examine my elbow. It wasn't too bad, but there was still glass in my arm. I picked out the few shards and continued on my way, going the shortest way to the closest of the three staircases. This is the staircase that was also closest to Nami's room below, had they chosen the correct route.

I went to the bottom of the staircase, waiting and listening for a moment before heading back up.

Because I still had two more staircases to check out, and lingering never bodes well during a disaster.

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

"Nami, where are we going?" Luffy asked suddenly.

"We're –" I looked around. "Looking for a staircase. Yeah, we're looking for a staircase."

"To go up," he said.

"Ye –no. We have to go down to get to Robin and Zoro," I said. I didn't even know where we were on the floor. And we wouldn't know until we came either across a staircase or a floor map. But it was hard, because there were some places where the roof had caved in –and I knew that if Franky had built the ship that it wouldn't be in such a condition even after it capsized.

That's all I could think about now. How if we had stayed on our ship how much better things would have been. If I were navigating; if we had been on the ship that Franky had built; if Zoro had his swords –and I know that last one sounds irrelevant, but I could really see him slicing that wave in two, the demon that he was. Yes, he was an idiot, yes, he owed me a lot of money, but the man was good with his swords. Too bad we had made him leave them back on the ship.

"We boarded at one, we ended up leaving at about three-thirty… The time now is about nine, eight, eight-thirty…"

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Trying to figure out how long it'll take for Sanji to get to us. I'm thinking what took us five hours will take them at least three in a half, with the boosts and the paddles… remind me never to go on a ship that I won't be navigating personally," I muttered.

"Never go on a ship that you wo–"

"I didn't mean right now," I looked at him.

He only laughed, "Shishishi."

"This is ridiculous," I murmured, looking down a hallway –another dead end with a wall caved in. "Did they even think when building this thing?"

"Can't I just break it down?" Luffy asked, already winding up his arm.

"No," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Further damage might cause the ship to sink faster. And we don't need it sinking faster."

"Then what do we do?" Luffy crossed his arms. The first sign of frustration and impatience he had shown, though his face held neither.

"We just keep trying to find another pa– did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Shh," I hushed him, placing my hand over his mouth and my index finger to my lips. I started walking towards the caved in wall, listening carefully. Luffy followed, though I wasn't sure if he heard it too.

"–lp!"

"There," I said, glancing back at Luffy. "Did you hear it this time?"

"Nami," Luffy grabbed me and pulled me close.

"Luffy, what are you –?" Then I saw it. I felt sick.

There was a woman, her eyes open and completely lifeless. I turned into Luffy, and he wrapped his arms around me, gently patting my back. I hadn't thought about the other passengers. Of course there would be those that had been thrown around in the chaos, crushed by the furniture that hadn't been bolted down, and so on. I clenched at Luffy's shirt.

"Somebody! Help!"

I was brought back to the reality of the situation. I had to get over this, accept it and move on. It wasn't like I had never seen a dead body before.

"Let's go," I told Luffy, pushing away from him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Isn't it pathetic? After all this time, I still get queasy when I see a dead body."

"It's not pathetic," Luffy said, taking my hand in his, and pulling me back towards him. I turned to look at him. "It's what makes you human. It's a thousand times better than not feeling a thing."

"I still can't tell, Luffy," I shook my head, avoiding both his gaze and the lifeless stare of the dead woman. "Are you and idiot or a genius?"

"I'm just Luffy," he shrugged.

"Of course you are," I cracked the frailest of smiles. "Now, let's find out who needs help, alright?"

I wondered if Luffy was a mystery that needed to be solved –much like Robin's Blank Century. But who Luffy really was wasn't written in stone.

It made me wonder which was harder to decipher.

* * *

><p><em><span>Zoro<span>_

This was stupid.

Damn that Nami for bringing out those two tickets. Instead of being on a ship that had been turned upside down, maybe I'd be working out, or napping.

I'd definitely be with Robin. Instead of with Tweedle-dee and Twiddle-dum.

Idiots.

* * *

><p><em><span>Brooke<span>_

"I'm going to be sick," Suki-chan said, turning away from the scene in front of us. We had decided to take a shortcut across the dance hall –but it was similar to a massacre.

"They're only dead people," Zoro muttered, walking forward.

"Brooke is only a dead person," Suki muttered. "Those people out there are… are…"

"It's okay," I told her, helping her to her feet. "Just follow my lead and we'll get through there just fine."

"How gentleman-like," she said, but then she shook her head. "I'm not walking through there."

Before I could say another word, Zoro pushed past me and hoisted her up over his shoulder.

"No!" she said, resisting as he entered the hall.

"Just shut up," Zoro rolled his eyes as he turned to face me. Suki gave a small shriek as she faced the direction of those that hadn't made it through the capsizing of the ship. "Let's go Brooke."

"Coming," I said, following after him. I looked around, "Really, what a sight to see. Except that –"

"If you say one more skull joke, I'm going to dissemble you and feed you to the dogs."

"Ha! Too bad! There are no dogs on this ship!" I said triumphantly.

"Then shove each bone down your throat," he said.

"Understood," I said. "No more skull jokes for the dead guy. That's so sad to hear…"

"Except that you don't have ears," Suki murmured. Zoro lifted her up, ready to drop her on the floor, not caring about the dead man by his feet. She started squealing again, "No! I'm sorry! I'll stop! Just don't put me down in here!"

"That's better," Zoro mumbled, resting her over his shoulder once more. I would have complained about the way he was treating her, but I was distracted.

Finally, a girl has shown me her panties…

Even if it was unintentionally.

* * *

><p><em><span>Sanji<span>_

I'm coming, Nami-swa~an! Robin-chwa~an!

Have no fear!

Your dearest Sanji will never let you die!

"Oi! Franky! Can't we make these things go faster?"

"For the hundredth time, Sanji... No."

I checked the log pose, making sure we were going in the right direction.

Ah, how painfully slow the minutes tick by.

"Franky -"

"No."


	9. Air Pocket

**A/N: **Sorry it's been so long! Here we are with another update for Down Under... which I'm sure you are acutely aware of, considering that it was plainly obvious...

Well, I'm happy to say that my summer break has more or less started! (insert crowd cheering here). I just have two exams, and since they're spaced out fairly well, I think we'll be good to go. I'll have a one-shot up tomorrow, and then since Thursday is one of my test days, we'll see what happens :P

What else? Hmm... Oh! I've mentioned it previously, but I do have my own personal novel on the go! If you're reading this far and thoroughly enjoy my work, I would love, love, LOOOOOVE it if you went and checked it out! Feedback is always welcome! It's free (for now), so read it while there's not a price tag on it :P (I mean, hey, an up and coming writer needs to make some money somehow). But honestly, I would love you all forever if you were to do that for me. FOREVER! Really :)

Anyway, here's the long awaited chapter! Hope you enjoy~~! :D

* * *

><p><strong>Air Pocket<strong>

_Nami_

"Help!"

"Over there," I said, pulling Luffy along. I called out, "Hello?"

"Here!" they replied, relief flooding the person's voice. Male.

"Let's lift this," I told Luffy.

"Earlier you said that –"

"Luffy, you know as well as I do that this is a completely different situation. Now help me lift this."

He gently pushed me to the side, placing his hands on the metal support and began to move it. But it was wedged between one wall and the other. He looked at me, question in his eyes.

"Just do it," I told him, "But be careful. If you sink this ship, I'm not rescuing you."

"Shishishi," he chuckled, knowing that I would try whether or not the sinking of the ship was his fault.

I watched as he brought his fist back, holding the metal carefully with his other hand and placing his feet on both sides of the hallway to make sure he himself didn't budge. When his hand hit the metal, it went flying, but before it could put a hole in the ship, Luffy pulled it back, catching it and lowering it to the ground carefully. Removing the piece of metal revealed a door that had been held shut by it. I threw the door open, surprised to find not one, but two people there.

And one was a child. A little girl, about seven years old.

"Thank you for saving us," the man said, picking up the girl and supporting her with one hand as he shook both of ours. "I'm Windsworth, and this is my daughter, Mariko."

"Nice to meet you," I murmured. More clearly, I asked, "Are you both okay?"

"Just a little shaken up, right?" he asked the young girl. She nodded, watching Luffy and I with wide eyes.

"Well, gather whatever you think is important, but keep it light," I said, "We're getting out of here. You're welcome to come."

I would never leave a little girl behind if we had the chance of escaping. Especially after seeing her face –that wasn't a nightmare I'd need.

"Isn't this ship upside down?" he asked.

"It is," I replied, glancing at the upside-down room. Wasn't it obvious?

"Aren't all the exits under the sea level?"

"We'll get out through the bottom," I said.

"It's not like there's an exit down there," he said.

"If it comes to it, we'll make one," I spoke firmly. Although making a hold in the hull would consequently sink the ship and any survivors that may have remained… But I didn't have to say that. In this kind of situation, it was us or them.

"Let's go with them," Mariko said to Windsworth.

"It's not a certain way to safety," he told her.

"Neither is whatever you're even considering," I told him. "The ship isn't about to right itself, and the water in the ship will only rise higher until it consumes everything."

In all technicality, we were in an air pocket; one with a lot of holes, considering all the portholes. With that in mind, I pushed past Windsworth and headed for the port, dragging Luffy with me.

"You need to stick your head out and tell me how many windows are open," I told Luffy. "And if you can reach them, close them. The less air that escapes, the longer we'll remain afloat."

"Mm," Luffy said, opening the porthole and climbing out of it, his legs holding him there.

I sighed, turning back to the two, "So are you coming with us?"

"Dad," Mariko said, clutching to her father's sleeve. He set her on the ground.

"Fine," he said after a moment. I had the feeling he was going to be difficult to deal with.

"Great," I said, glancing at Luffy as he slid back in. He made a show of closing the porthole, grinning at me. I rolled my eyes. "Now let's go try to find Robin."

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

I sighed as I looked at the map, using a pen I'd found on a corpse to cross out another path that was unusable. I looked around, and then finally headed off in the direction of the last staircase I had to check out.

"_Watch your step,"_ Brooke was saying in my ear.

"_Thank you_," Suki replied.

"_You still listening, Robin?_" Zoro asked.

"I am," I told him.

"_We're coming down to the level Brooke and the girl were staying on now."_

"Any water?"

"_A puddle, here and there,"_ Brooke said. _"But I believe that's from the rolling of the ship."_

"That's a relief," I said, pausing in the hallway. I looked down the hallway, sure that I had just seen something fly by. I ran to the next hallway, seeing it disappear around another corner.

"_Robin_?"

I chased it again, this time seeing it. A hand. Attached to a really, really long arm. Only one person could have an arm like that. I rushed after it again.

"_Robin, what's happening?"_

"_She's fine_. _You say that your room's on the other side of this mess here?"_ It wasn't that Zoro was being inconsiderate –he just believed that I was capable of handling myself.

"_Yes."_

Panting heavily, and not catching a gain on it, placed an eye on the back of his hand, then paid attention to each corner that his arm went around, this time following at a slower pace, and managing to catch my breath.

"_You okay?"_ Zoro asked.

"Just trying to catch up to Luffy," I murmured, wiping my brow.

"_You've caught up to them?_"

"Almost," I replied, rounding one of the many corners that were to come.

"_We're coming up on Suki's and Brooke's rooms_," Zoro told me. "_The walls caved in though. I'm going to break through it._"

It took a moment for what he said to register, as I continued to follow Luffy's path.

"Wait! Stop!"

Too late. I heard the ship creak as the weight of the ship shifted. A broken picture frame slid across the floor in front of me.

"_What's happening?"_ Suki asked.

"Disturbing the frame of the ship will change the weight distribution of the ship," I said. Luffy's arm was back to a normal length now, and now I could see their reaction to the creaks of the ship. Nami didn't look happy at all. "Get your stuff and hurry back up. Nami's not going to be happy about this."

"_Nami's never happy_," Zoro muttered. I smiled.

There was another creak, and the frame moved away from me, down the hall. My smile faded.

"Stop whatever you're doing," I told them.

"_That wasn't us this time_," Suki said.

"Then what was it?"

"_Water. It's flooding the hall,_" Zoro muttered.

"How many floors did you go down?" I asked.

"_Three_," Brooke replied.

"Just grab your violin and ring and get up here," I said, hurrying down the maze that Luffy's arm had gone through. I realized they weren't alone, now with two companions.

"_My deepest apologies, Robin_," Brooke apologized.

"It's fine, Brooke, it's not your fault."

It was no one's fault, because, really, no one had ever seen this coming.

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

"I bet you that was Zoro," I said, banging my fist into the wall.

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed.

"It's not something to be laughing at!" I snapped.

"What's that creaking?" Mariko asked.

"Nothing good," Windsworth told her.

"Well, at least we know they're alright," I gestured to Luffy's hand, where her eye blinked at us.

"Of course she is!" Luffy said triumphantly.

I rolled my eyes. I still didn't understand how he could be so happy and confident in this kind of situation.

But it was encouraging.

* * *

><p><em><span>Luffy<span>_

My stomach growled, and I placed my hands on top of it. I was _soooo_ hungry. I wonder when Nami was going to let me eat.

I shifted from foot to foot, waiting for Robin and the others to appear. Nami said we should remain right where we were so that Robin could catch up.

The little girl was still watching me with incredulous eyes. She and the man –Winds-something –hadn't been expecting my arm to stretch. I still didn't understand why Nami had made me stretch my hands. Maybe this was part of her plan, for someone to see the hand and follow. Well, it worked, so I guess it didn't matter.

What did matter was my stomach though.

It growled again.

"Naaaaammmmmiiiiiiii," I complained, pulling at her arm as I crouched to the floor.

"We'll feed you after everyone meets up," she told me, glancing down.

"So when Robin and the other's come around that corner?"

"Mm," Nami said.

I hoped they came around the corner soon.

* * *

><p><em><span>Zoro<span>_

I held Brooke and the girl by their collars as I held onto a doorframe, the water rushing past at waist height. Where did it all come from? The ship had been level before and there had been hardly any water.

"Yohoho! I don't think I've been this clean in years," Brooke called to me.

"You are aware we're going to have to find one of the other staircases, right?" Suki also looked to me.

"We'll find one easily," I told them.

"Indeed! We'll just go the opposite direction that Zoro wants to go in!"

I almost lost a hold of him. Deliberately.


	10. Get it and Go

**A/N:** Chapter 9 -finally :P I've decided to update every other day with this one, so that I can work on my personal novel in between, because really, if I don't follow a schedule of some sort, nothing seems to get done :P

For a while with this chapter, I didn't quite know where I was heading -but then I got things back on track :P I have an idea of where I'm going with the rest of the chapters now, but I have to say this is definitely the most action packed story I've written so far, so I'm trying to think of ways that I don't make it boring for both me writing it and all you readers -or else it won't be that good of an adventurous story :P

Well, that being said, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Get it and Go<strong>

_Nami_

"Robin!" I said, rushing forward when she came around the corner.

I came to a halt quickly though. I leaned in one direction, trying to look behind her. Then I leaned in the other direction.

"Eh? Where're Zoro and Brooke?"

"They went down three floors –Brooke needed to get his violin, and Suki needed to get her mother's keepsake," Robin explained.

"His violin? Really?" I scoffed. The mother's keepsake I could understand. "And who's Suki?"

"She sings on the ship," she said.

"We should ask her to be our nakama," Luffy murmured behind me.

"Are we your nakama?" Mariko asked.

"Shishishi, of course!" Luffy laughed.

"And Zoro's with them? Is that such a good idea?" I asked.

"I'm keeping an ear on them," she replied.

"And how are things going?"

"You don't want to know."

I rolled my eyes, "Of course… Did I expect anything less? So they were the one's responsible for the ship's balance changing."

"That was my fault –it slipped my mind and I forgot to warn them about things like that."

I sighed. I couldn't blame her. Things had been hectic –and that was really an understatement.

"I can tell you one thing though," Robin said.

"Is it good news?" I asked.

"Mmmmm, yes and no."

"What is it?" I really didn't want to know.

"We know how high the water is now."

* * *

><p><em><span>Brooke<span>_

Zoro dragged Suki and I over to the room I was staying in through the water.

"This water is so cold," Suki shivered as I unlocked the door.

"Indeed, it chills me to the bone," I exchanged a look with Suki before we both burst out laughing.

"Just find your violin and let's get out of here," Zoro said, throwing me into my room, the water pouring quickly to fill the space in the room. The water was now down to our knees –well, Zoro's and Suki's knees –after having so much rush by us, both down the hall and into the room. Still, it was rising. How frightening. Sea water did awful things to my hair.

"My ring," Suki reminded him.

"You're such a pain in the ass," Zoro grumbled. "Go quickly now."

"It'll take forever to find it alone after the ship's turned over," she said.

"Then just leave it," he shrugged.

"I will _not_ leave it behind!" she growled at him, squaring her shoulders as she faced the demon himself.

I grabbed my violin, the case floating on the water's surface. I opened it, happy to see that there was no water inside. And it was undamaged from the tumbling.

Reli~ef.

"Yohoho! Wonderful! I've never been happier in my life!" I exclaimed.

"Except for the fact that you're dead," Suki said, still glaring at Zoro.

"Skull joke! Yohoho!" Silence met me. A small sigh escaped my lips. Tough crowd. "Let's go, Zoro –we can spare a few moments of our time to help Suki," I told him, closing the case once more.

"_Zoro_," Robin's lips moved.

"Fine," Zoro said.

"Besides, quite frankly you wouldn't be able to find your way back without us," I chuckled.

* * *

><p><em><span>Suki<span>_

I was thankful that Brooke was here during this disaster. Not only did he bring a little relief with his humor, but I felt like he was actually on my side –unlike Zoro.

Still angry at him, I struggled to the door through the water. It was hard to walk through water that was at knee height. It resisted my movements, and all too frequently I would fall forward. Zoro and Brooke had an easier time –Brooke because he was taller and thinner, the water moving around him easily, and Zoro because he was stronger. The muscles in my legs were sore, and I hoped they looked amazing after all this.

When we arrived at my room, I unlocked the door and bit back a ground as water rushed in. The drawers started floating, and the clothes did too, until they absorbed so much water that they sunk down out of sight. Quickly I tried to close the door –scared that whatever was on the ground would get carried with the water. I couldn't close it though, and Zoro had to lend a hand.

I was still angry though.

I began making my way through the mess, pushing the drawers aside and reaching underneath the water, trying to grab things that were on the floor. I wasn't sure if the box the ring was in would float. I ignored the clothing there, my gaze hovering on the surface, looking for the box while my hands felt around for it.

"What is it we're looking for?" Zoro asked, kicking a drawer out of the way as it floated in front of him.

"A red box," I told him.

"Wouldn't it be floating?" Brooke asked.

"I don't know," I said, trying to hide the panic in my voice. I needed to find that ring. It meant so much more to me than anything that I could find in the world.

"This seems impossible," Zoro muttered before he even began searching.

"_I thought you liked challenges,_" his girlfriend's lips said.

I still found that creepy.

"I never said I wouldn't help," Zoro said.

She –her lips –only chuckled.

Like I said –creepy.

Zoro was right though –a part of me knew that this was impossible –or at the very least it was going to take forever. The water level was rising as more water came from under the door. I didn't even want to think about how high the water was outside in the hall.

"We won't be able to find it like this if it's under the water," Zoro grumbled, standing up straight and looking out the window. "We need to hurry up and get out of here, or we'll all drown."

"No! I'm not leaving the ring behind!" I said, my voice coming out louder than I intended.

"You're such a pain in the ass," he muttered. "Look –the water's up to Brooke's knees now."

And it was up to my upper thighs. I was aware of all that –I really was –but I couldn't bear to leave without my mother's ring. I just couldn't.

"It's fine," Zoro," Brooke said. "I have complete confidence you will get us out of this when the time comes."

I continued to bend down and shift through the mess on the floor, ignoring how cold my body felt in the water. Eventually I just sat down, the water up to my neck.

"Come on, Suki-chan," Brooke encouraged. "It has to be here somewhere."

"It's hopeless," I was on the verge of tears. "I'll never find it –and when this ship sinks it'll be lost forever."

There was a loud splash, and I looked over and Zoro was gone.

"We'll find it," Brooke said, reaching out his hand to me. "Just tell me, where was the last place you saw it?"

"What does it matter? The tsunami messed up the room anyway," I said, wiping underneath my eyes. I couldn't tell if I was crying or not –my hands were already wet.

"Suki-chan," Brooke said.

"The drawers, by my bed," I murmured finally as Zoro came back up. The water had already risen to underneath my lips.

"What was that?" he asked, standing up straight, water splashing in all directions with his sudden movements.

"The last place I saw it was in the drawers beside the bed," I repeated, finally reaching and taking Brooke's hand and letting him pull me to my feet.

"Say stuff like that earlier, stupid," Zoro said, going over to the bed and nightstand, which were both submerged in water too now. He reached underneath the water and pulled out something –the drawer.

"Yohoho! Look at that," Brooke exclaimed.

"Too bad you don't have eyes to see with," I said, half laughing, half crying, as I rushed over, taking the drawer from Zoro and grabbing the red box that floated there. I opened it carefully, smiling widely to see it still there. I closed the box and turned to Brooke.

"Can we keep it in the violin case? I don't have any place to keep a hold of it."

"But of course," Brooke said, taking the small box from me.

I turned to Zoro, bowing so deeply that my nose almost touched the water. "Thank you."

"Let's just go," Zoro said, walking past me and heading for the door.

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"They're coming back now," I told them as we walked towards the kitchen.

"That's good," Nami said, suppressing a sigh. "Remind them not to be too destructive."

"So a little destructive is okay?" I grinned.

"Like if they're helping someone," Nami said. "Then I think that's a good reason to be a little destructive."

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed, "Like how we saved Windsworth and Mariko."

"Mm," she smiled.

"I think this is it," I said, pushing open a door. Something seemed to be leaning against it on the other side, as it didn't budge.

"Luffy," Nami said.

"Mm," Luffy said, pushing on it. It seemed to move easily for him. He held the door open for the four of us, then moved the tables that had been leaning on the door away. There were dead bodies here too. A lot of them. Mariko paled, and Nami's face hardened as she looked over the room. Luffy reached down and brushed his fingers against the back of his hand.

"The kitchen's over there," Nami pointed. "Robin and I will stay here and see if anyone's alive."

"The food can wait," Luffy told her. "I'll stay and help."

Nami only nodded, but I can tell that she was thankful.

"Are you hungry, Mariko?" Nami asked, kneeling down to the girl's height.

"Not really," the girl shook her head. I wasn't hungry either after seeing all these. I could tell Nami wasn't either.

"Let's go eat," Windsworth said, taking the girl's hand and leading her along, not even shielding her eyes. I didn't like him very much, and Nami didn't seem to either.

Nami started grabbing table clothes.

"What are you doing?" Luffy asked.

"Let's… let's cover them up," Nami said. "Especially if we're going to be here until Zoro and Brooke come along –who knows how long that will be."

"Mm," I nodded.

"Hello?" Nami called into the room. Weakly she followed up with, "Anyone alive in here?"

"If anyone is alive, they'd probably be unconscious," I pointed out. "We'll have to go and check them individually."

I felt the pulse of one body after the next, finding nothing each time. How many table clothes did we use, laying them over the bodies?

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

I felt sick.

I realized that all these dead bodies were so much worse than the bodies on any battle field. They were all innocent –they didn't do anything to die because they were thrashed around inside a ship that was rolling over. Not that all the people on that fought deserved to die either –but admittedly, some of them had it coming.

Then my mind drifted back to the other dead bodies we'd seen –I hadn't checked their pulses, the idea just simply not being there. Maybe they'd been alive and I'd just left them there for dead. I shook my head, trying to clear the images from my mind.

I glanced over at Luffy. He was frowning as he covered people up. He looked at me and gave a half-hearted smile. Was he thinking the same way that I was?

The dining room was beginning to look like a morgue. All these bodies, covered with the white table clothes. I wondered if we should lay them side by side on one side of the room.

"Mm," Robin said when I suggested it to them. I wondered how she felt looking at these, but I didn't ask.

Luffy and Robin moved the bodies over to one area of the room, Robin using her many hands to move things along faster, and I continued to check for pulses and laying out the table clothes.

I was just about to draw my hand away from the bloody wrist of a teenage boy, when I was pretty sure I felt a pulse. I held my hand against his vein longer, and sure enough, there it was.

"Robin," I called, not quite sure of what to do.

"You found someone?" she asked, coming over.

"Mm," I said.

"Here, I'll look after him; you just continue checking the others."

I looked over –she and Luffy had gotten many of the bodies to the other side of the room already.

Bodies. It felt cruel to call them that way.

I brought my gaze back down to Robin and the boy. She got up, heading for the kitchen. I didn't think she was hungry, but I still found it weird until she returned with a bucket of water. She cupped her hands and splashed it on the boys face. He stirred, and relief washed over me.

Luffy came up behind me, giving me a small hug. I turned into him, letting him comfort me for a little before I pulled away.

Then I moved onto the next person.


	11. Saviors

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay! I don't know what it is about summer. One second you have all the time in the world, and the next it just seems to disappear. Not to mention the heat -it's been almost unbearable this week. But it's raining now, so that's hardly a problem at the moment.

The past few days have been super busy. I've been to the zoo with my older sister and the kids she watches during the day, I've helped a friend clean her room -and got paid for it. It was awful, second messiest room I've ever seen. It literately took hours to clean it... And between everything I've read two books. Two very, very good books :P I've just been working on this, as well as my personal novel, whenever I've had a moment.

Then there was the entire thing where you read your work, and you're like, "do I really want to post this?" I don't know why, but the first time writing this chapter I wasn't satisfied, so it was back to the beginning for me...

Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :)

* * *

><p><strong>Saviours<strong>

_Nami_

"Three…"

Three. Three people out of forty-seven were found alive in the dining hall. The teenage boy was fine now. The other two people we found were an old woman and her husband.

"Three, Robin," I turned to her. "Three. That's nothing compared to the number of people that have died."

"We can't save them all," she said, sitting beside me. Luffy came over and held my hand. Despite the kitchen being so close –and getting food for the people we'd just saved –Luffy still hadn't eaten anything.

"We'll save as many as we can," Luffy promised me.

"We're off to a good start," Robin looked around at our group. "Including Suki, Brooke and Zoro, our group has eleven people."

"Eleven people out of how many?" I shook my head.

"It's better than no one," Robin said.

"Five of them are us."

"Also better than no one," she said.

"With a rubber man, a skeleton, and a demon –of course our nakama would survive all that tumbling around."

"A skeleton and a demon?" The teenage boy came over. His name was Loki.

"Yeah," Luffy said. "Our nakama."

"So you guys _are_ the straw-hat pirates!" Loki exclaimed. "That's so cool."

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed.

"Pirates?" Windsworth stood up. "You guys are pirates? I knew you guys were no good!"

"No good?" It was my turn to stand. "We saved you!"

"You probably wanted to steal something of ours!"

"On a sinking ship? Who has time for that?" I hadn't even grabbed my own money.

"Don't speak down to me, you damn pirate," Windsworth said,

"Don't speak down to them, you jerk!" Loki squared his shoulders off. "They're not just _any_ pirates! They're the straw-hat pirates! They're heroes everywhere!"

"They're _still_ pirates!" Windsworth sneered.

"But they're _good_ pirates!" Loki shouted at him.

"Everybody shut up!" I raised my voice over theirs. Everyone turned to look at me. "I don't care if you hate me, but please, respect those that have passed away in this tragedy!"

"Don–" Windsworth began again, but his daughter took his hand.

"Daddy, stop," she murmured quietly.

"Come on, we're leaving," he started dragging her towards the door.

"No!" I began.

"You won't make it out of here without us," Robin said, her voice firm and certain.

"You can't know that," Windsworth said smugly.

"I do know that," Robin stood up. "The water's two floors beneath our feet now. How many dead ends are there in the hallways? How many passages are there that have been locked off because they're service hallways? Without our strength, you won't make it."

"We'll find our own way out," he said.

"Do you have a ship that's coming for you?"

"There has to be rescue ships on their way –"

"How much time do you think they had to contact someone before the tsunami hit and wiped out the captain and his crew?"

"Someone has to know!"

"We're in the middle of the Grand Line!" I said. "Does that mean anything to you, who has probably never set foot on the water before? It means the chances of someone coming and rescuing us are slim!"

"Dad," Mariko pulled back towards us. "Let's stay with them!"

"I'm not staying with a bunch of pirates!"

"And we're _not_ going to let you put your daughter in harms way," Robin still spoke with that same calm voice. I could only wonder how she did it.

"Dad I'm staying with them," Mariko wrenched her arm from her father's grip. "Loki's right! They are good people! And I believe they can get us out of here!"

"You're _my_ daughter," he said.

Windsworth looked at her for a second before he stalked off towards the kitchen. I felt relieved with his absence.

"So it really was a tsunami?" Loki asked.

"Mm," I murmured, sitting back down on one of the chairs we had righted, and brought my legs up to my chest. "A tsunami hit the ship and… and…" I realized something then, I turned to Luffy, "What if Franky and Sanji can't find us? What if the tsunami put us too much off course?"

"They'll find us," Robin promised, getting up and also heading for the kitchen. I didn't know what she was up to. Did she want to talk to that jerk again? Was she hungry?

I really don't think I'd be able to hold a bite down.

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

I didn't like Windsworth. He was arrogant. He was rude.

He was a pig.

But for the sake of civility in our group, I would put up with him –as I'm sure Nami and Luffy would too.

Zoro, not so much, but I'd deal with that later.

But the reason I came into the kitchen wasn't to deal with Windsworth. I was planning for the future. I started going through the cupboards and the multiple fridges, taking a quick inventory. Luffy would have to survive without his meat for a while.

For a moment I wished Franky was there –we could have used him for storage, and the food would have remained dry.

I really did wonder how we'd take the food with us. Nami was right. On the chance that our nakama found us was slim –the tsunami would have dragged us from our original course. I would probably slip out to find a room; maybe take a bag that no one would claim in the chaos.

Or if they're dead.

I felt horrible thinking that way, but I couldn't help but face the harsh reality that things like this happen.

Who was I kidding? How many innocent people died in Ohara? Men, women, children alike. Not to mention that for thirty years I had jumped between pirate crews in order to survive. Or even in Alabasta. Civilians that had nothing to do with the battle; their lives lost.

I exhaled slowly, closing my eyes for a brief moment while I sent up a silent prayer to all the lost souls.

Indeed, it was sad.

But it was life. No matter how cruel it seemed –it was indeed life. Not everybody could live.

What mattered most at the moment was that we survived. Then we could give them a proper funeral at sea.

And I think that would provide closure for Nami too.

* * *

><p><em><span>Suki<span>_

Going up to the level that we were supposed to be on was easy. What wasn't easy was finding an open path to the dining hall. We ended up having to go downstairs and find another staircase. Further down the staircase we could see the water rising. None of us said a word, just exchanged glances and continued on.

That frustrated Zoro. He wanted to break through everything. Although he didn't speak, you could see it in his frown.

None of us spoke. Not really. Occasionally to fill the silence, but the conversation died down quickly. Robin would say something once in a while to make sure we were all alive.

The dead bodies in some places seemed endless. Some of them looked like they were sleeping. Others looked so badly beaten up, bruised and bloody that I almost threw up. I did once.

All Zoro and Brooke seemed to want was to catch up with their nakama.

And I still wanted to find my best friend.

* * *

><p><em><span>Zoro<span>_

There was throw up clinging to Suki's hair, but I didn't say anything.

I just wanted to get up there with Robin in the dining hall, but every time we were presented with a dead end all we could do was turn around and try another way. It was a waste of time.

"Let's go this way," I told them, turning down a hallway.

"We're going this way," Brooke said, grabbing my collar and heading in the opposite direction.

I scowled at him.

The idiot was going to get us lost.

* * *

><p><em><span>Luffy<span>_

My stomach was growling, but I still didn't get up. Nami was clutching my hand so tightly –it was a good thing I was rubber.

She looked tired. I looked around. They all looked tired.

Robin returned, wrapping something up in a cloth.

"I'm going to leave for a moment, to find a bag to hold some things in," Robin said.

"I'll come with you," Nami began, standing up.

Robin opened her mouth, but closed it, nodding. I gave Nami's hand a gentle squeeze before letting her slip her hand from mine.

"You got everything in here covered?" she asked.

"Mm," I nodded.

"Eat something," she said as my stomach growled again.

"Mm," I repeated, unable to keep myself from grinning. She returned the gesture half-heartedly. I frowned, "It's okay, Nami."

"I… I know," she took a deep breath.

"No, you don't," I frowned deeper.

Surprise crowded her features. Robin looked surprised too.

I stood up, placing a kiss on her forehead and closing my eyes. My stomach growled again.

"Nami?" Robin called gently.

She nodded, glancing at me once more before turning and following Robin out of the room.

I watched the door swing shut before I turned to the group.

I placed my hand on my head out of habit, almost surprised with the lack of my hat.

My stomach growled once more, and Mariko came over, taking my hand gently. Loki helped the old couple to their feet. It was unanimous.

"Let's go eat."

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

Nami was silent as she walked beside me. I think she was really taken aback by Luffy. But I knew what he meant. Nami would snap out of it one moment, then sink back into her state of worry. And I understood her unsteadiness on the entire situation, but there was a certain rationality that you had to approach this with.

"What are we looking for?" she asked.

"A bag. I want to be able to carry fruits and vegetables with us. Lots of them. We don't know who we'll pick up."

She was silent.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked politely.

"Maybe when it's all over," she murmured quietly.

I left it at that, opening the first door that appeared to be a bedroom.

I only wished I could say something to bring her out of the slump that she keep slipping into.

But I suppose I'd have to leave that to Luffy.


	12. Wakeup Call

**A/N:** Ahha, well, would you look at that. I'm pretty darn sure it really HAS been two days since I last updated -let's hope I can keep it up ;)

I sat down about four hours ago and decided I wanted to add a bit more drama. So guess what? More drama has been added :) Nami gets a wake-up call from Luffy, and Zoro and the others... well, you'll just have to read and find out :P

But at the same time that I added drama, I provided a little bit of tension relief... Well, you'll see that for yourself too.

And Shadowonthewall... thank you :P "For what?" You may ask. I'm sure you'll find it when you read the chapter... XD

Over all, I'm pretty darn satisfied, I'll say that much :P

And I hope you enjoy :)

* * *

><p><strong>Wake-up Call<br>**

_Suki_

"This way," I said, recognizing where we were. Hopefully the route I wanted to take would be clear.

"You!" Someone called as we passed another hallway. We turned to see a man running towards us. "We need help –my friend –they're pinned underneath… underneath –"

"Calm down," I told him, placing my hand on his arm and looked at Zoro and Brooke. "We'll help you. Just lead the way."

We followed at a running pace, twisting this way and that around corners. We passed a staircase, and I noted it in the back of my mind as we hurried onwards. We still had to go up another level.

"How much further?" Zoro asked after a while.

"Not much further," the man murmured breathlessly. He must have been searching for help for ever. I felt sorry for him.

"You know the water's rising fast –do you think we could pick up the pace?" I asked.

"I promise, it's not too much further," he reassured us. But he did start walking a little faster. He looked around constantly. Fretting about something? Worried about his friend?

"What's your name?" Brooke asked to fill the silence.

"Can we just concentrate on saving my friend? Save the formalities for later?" he glanced over his shoulder at us.

Definitely nervous.

Zoro paused for a moment, tilting his head in the direction that we were heading.

"Is everything all right, Zoro?" Brooke stopped to ask.

He was silent for a moment before nodding, "Everything's fine."

"If that's not a lie when I hear one," Brooke muttered, too quietly for the man to hear.

"Except you don't have ears to hear with," I said just as quietly. I didn't get what their exchange was about. Was everything okay? Or was there something to be worried about?

"I thought we were hurrying," the man said, turning to stop. "My friend –we need to save him."

"Of course," Zoro said.

We rounded another corner and –

_Bang!_ _Bang! Bang!_

* * *

><p><em><span>Luffy<span>_

"Ah~" I exclaimed.

"What'd you find?" Loki asked.

"Meat," I grinned, holding it up.

"Was it on the floor?" Mariko had her hands on her hips as she stared up at me.

"Maybe," I murmured, starting to bring it to my mouth.

"Don't eat it!" Mariko said, reaching to grab my arm, but it stretched in her grip.

"But I'm hungry," I complained. "Vegetables aren't filling."

"We can't afford to be picky," Loki said.

"Exactly," I nodded my agreement before stuffing my face with the meat.

"I meant about the veg– never mind," Loki shook his head before grinning. He turned to the old couple, "Here."

"Thank you," they nodded their appreciation, taking the fruit that he held out to them.

Obaa-san looked up at him, squinting, "Who are you again?"

It was the third time she'd asked him that.

"Loki," he told her, patient as if he dealt with it all the time. At first he had wondered whether her forgetfulness was from the chaos the tsunami had caused, but Ojii-san said she had been like that for five years now.

"Ohhhh," she nodded her head slowly like she did every time. Ojii-san broke the fruit in half with his bare hands and handed half to her. Her hands were shaky. She seemed so frail. But she smiled so happily, "Thank you, dear."

"Mariko, come away from them," Windsworth called out, from the opposite side of the kitchen. With Loki's help, we had moved the chefs and hands that hadn't made it to the other room with the others.

Mariko ignored her father, going to the dripping sink with a cloth and wetting it. She wrung it out, then went to help the old couple, the man having a serious on his forehead. Robin had said that head wounds bleed a lot, but it was nothing more than a scratch.

Nami and Robin hadn't come back yet.

"Are you and Nami –?" Loki asked.

"Eh? Are we what?" I asked.

"You know…"

"A couple," Mariko supplied, glancing over her shoulder.

"Shishishi," I laughed. I liked Mariko. She was smart for a little girl. Independent, too. "Mm. I love Nami."

"She's pretty," Loki commented.

"Mm," I grinned.

"Thank you," Ojii-san said to Mariko as she finished cleaning him up.

"You're welcome," she said.

"You remind me of my granddaughter," he told her.

"Oh, yes," Obaa-san agreed. She was soft spoken and forgetful, but nice. I liked her too. And Ojii-san, who looked at Obaa-san kindly. He was nice, too. Obaa-san took Mariko's hands in hers, "Who are you again?"

"Mariko," the young girl said.

"Mariko," Obaa-san repeated, patting Mariko's hands gently. "Such a pretty name."

"Thank you," Mariko smiled politely.

"Mariko," Windsworth called again.

She sighed, gently taking her hands from the old woman, then turned and headed towards her father.

"How long have you two been together?" Loki asked Ojii-san.

"Fifty-years," he smiled, taking his wife's hand in his and squeezing it gently.

"So long," I awed.

"Mm," Ojii-san looked happy. Then he looked around the kitchen, and his smile settled into a frown. "We were celebrating out fiftieth anniversary on this ship."

Loki didn't know what to say.

"Congratulations," I said, smiling at him. I stretched my arm out to the side, catching a whiff of meat. I felt around for it, and when I found it I grasped it tightly, bringing my arm back in. "Shishishi –don't worry. We'll make sure you get out of here."

"Thank you," Ojii-san bowed his head deeply.

"You guys _are_ in here," Robin said, coming into the kitchen. She carried an empty bag in her hand. Nami followed closely behind. She looked like she was going to be sick. I frowned when she avoided my gaze.

"Who are you?" Obaa-san asked.

"Robin and Nami," Robin responded politely. I had such good nakama.

I began eating the meat.

"Floor?" Robin asked when she spotted me and the food.

"Mmmfmphhh," I told her.

"Yeah," Loki answered for me.

Robin chuckled lightly, glancing at Nami. She exchanged glances with me, and then moved on to fill the bag with food.

"Cheer up," I told Nami, stretching my arm out to grasp her hand.

"Luffy, stop it," she murmured, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear and taking a seat.

"I bet you're hungry."

"I'm not," she told me.

"You should eat something," I persisted.

"Luffy," she said firmly.

"Nami," I countered, stretching to grab a fruit. I held it out in front of her. "Eat."

"I'm not hungry," she snapped, batting my hand away. The fruit went flying, but I caught it.

Everyone was silent.

Nami took a shaky breath in, "Sorry."

"Not accepted."

Everyone looked at me, surprised. I passed the fruit to Robin, who caught it and placed it in the bag.

"What?" Nami asked, completely surprised.

"I don't accept your apology," I told her frowning.

"Let's go and sit in the dining room," Loki said, helping Obaa-san to her feet.

"Who are you again?"

"Loki."

"Ohhhh…"

Windsworth was led out by his daughter. Only Robin stayed behind, but neither Nami or I were bothered by her presence.

"I don't accept your apology," I repeated when everyone was gone.

"I don't understand," she said, anger flashing in her eyes, though she didn't display it outwardly.

"You knew that the tsunami was coming," I sat on the counter, crossing my legs and arms. "You should have known that not everybody would make it."

"What does that have to do with me not eating?" she clenched her fist. "And is it so wrong to wish that everybody would be okay?"

"That's naïve."

"Wha–?"

"People die."

Nami's fist tightened further, but she said nothing.

"Even if people survived the tsunami and the tumbling inside the ship –you can't save all those people either."

"But we can try –"

"No. Some are bound to drown. Some will be killed by others as they're driven to insanity. Some will die of blood loss –you can't save them all," I spoke firmly.

Her fist came flying towards my face, and I let her hit me. She didn't pull away, and I gently I took her wrist in my hand.

"My arms can stretch far, Nami, but I can't extend my hand to everyone on this ship. It's impossible."

Her other fist came down on me, "I know that –I do, but –"

"No buts," I told her, taking her other wrist. I held her hands together, bending my neck so that I could see her face. "You have to understand that in this kind of uncontrollable situation, the number of deaths is going to be more than those that survive. If you could control who would live and who would die -then you'd be a monster."

Tears streamed down her face, and I held her to my chest, resting my chin on top of her head. She slipped her arms around me, and I could feel her gripping the back of my shirt.

I looked at Robin, who nodded in approval. She continued filling up the bag, but paused as she grabbed a vegetable. She stood like that for a long moment. Nami continued to cry in my arms.

Suddenly the vegetable fell from her hands and she covered her mouth with her hands.

"Robin?" I caught the vegetable, placing it on the counter in front of her.

Nami pulled away and looked up.

"Robin, what's wrong?" She wiped her tears away. Already the undertone of her voice sounded more like the Nami I knew.

"Gunshots," she murmured, gripping the counter so hard that her knuckles turned white.

"Guns?" Nami straightened up.

"Mm," Robin looked at us.

"Zoro and Brooke were shot?"

"It would seem that way," Robin looked worried.

"I'm sure they'll be fine," I told them.

"Are they responding?" Nami asked.

Robin hesitated before shaking her head. "All I can hear is Suki wailing."

"Where are they?"

"I don't know," Robin admitted. "They were searching for a way to us on the level below, but someone asked them for help. I'm only listening and talking to them. I think it was a trap to begin with. Like Luffy said, killing due to the insanity."

"I'm sure they're fine," I reassured them.

Nami looked at me for a moment, then nodded, "We all know better than anyone just how much our crew members can handle. Bullets won't stop them. Even if they don't have their swords. And Brooke's a skeleton. How much damage could they do to him?"

"I wish we did bring Zoro's swords," Robin said, eyeing the knives on the floor.

"I wish we brought my hat," I muttered.

Nami hit me, "Now's not the time for that."

And I just grinned.

* * *

><p><em><span>Suki<span>_

Zoro laid there on the ground, face down, blood circling him. Brooke was leaning against the wall. And the man that led us here now stood at the back of the group, looking guilty. That's what he had been the entire time. Nervous and guilty. He led us into this.

And now, I was the only one left standing. And I think that scared me more than if I had been killed with them.

"I really thought I shot her," one of the men said.

"Isn't she that singer?" another man said.

"This is better, isn't it? A girl to satisfy us."

"You guys are nuts," I took a step back.

"Look, sweetie," one man stepped forward, "We're going to die anyway, so let us just have our fun, all right?"

"No," I shook my head. I dropped to my knees beside Brooke, shaking him so vigorously that his bones rattled. "Brooke, get up! You're a skeleton for goodness sake! And Zoro, you're supposed to be an unstoppable demon! Get up!"

"_Zoro?_" Robin's voice rang through the air.

"What the hell is that?" Some of the crew looked around.

"Robin," I began, but something brushed against my hand, making me stop. I looked down to see Brooke's hand, gently squeezing mine in reassurance. I almost screamed in surprise. I mean, he was after all a skeleton. "Brooke –" Another squeeze cut me off. What was he planning? Was Zoro in on it? But Zoro was made of flesh, unlike Brooke. And there was a lot of blood.

"Come on," one guy came over, jerking me to my feet. Brooke let my hand slip from his grasp.

Was he just going to let me be taken?

Brooke's other hand shot out and grabbed the man's leg. The man released me immediately, yelping loudly. And then, ever so slowly, Brooke turned his head to face the group, his eyes staring emptily out at them. His mouth opened, and something that resembled smoke wisped out. Brooke's fleshless face appeared, as the smoke curled higher into the air.

The ghost-like Brooke's mouth opened wide and –

"Boo."


	13. Plans and Smart Ideas

**A/N:** Delayed half a day :P You guys would not believe how easily I get distracted sometimes... Yesterday was just one of those days -though I did manage to finish, like, five sevenths of the chapter yesterday. But it got late, so I stopped for the night.

Now we're getting somewhere :P Next chapter, everybody should be reunited again!

100 reviews! You guys make me so happy :)

And since I have nothing else really to say: Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Plans and Smart Ideas<br>**

_Suki_

I fell to my knees as the rest of them ran away.

"Yohoho, look at them run," Brooke's spirit snaked around me.

"You're such an idiot," I told him, tears welling in my eyes. I didn't know if it were from relief or from the fear that still remained though the ones to be scared of had disappeared. I wiped my eyes as Brooke's spirit returned to his skeleton.

"Yohoho, are those tears I see?" he knelt in front of me, placing a gentle hand over one of mine. The was a small ding nearby, but both of us ignored it.

"No, because you have no eyes to see with," I took a shaky breath, then forced a laugh.

Brooke laughed. "Yohoho! Skull joke!" He pulled his suit's jacket straight, finding the hole and sticking his boney finger through it. He sighed as he bent down and picked up his violin case. There was a large dent, and a bullet hole. Neither had been there before.

"What happened?" I raised a trembling hand to the case. Brooke's fingers closed around my wrist gently.

"I would not let them take you," he told me. I'll be the first to admit that the serious Brooke scared me.

"I know," A half-lie. I had really believed he would for a second. "So what happened to the violin's case?"

"This?" He ran his fingers over the dent, then let out a loud laugh, "Yohoho! I hit Zoro over the head."

"When?" I asked. I didn't remember him doing so.

"When they shot at us," Brooke said.

"I didn't see you," I told him.

"But I felt him do it," Zoro grounded out behind me.

I spun, slipping in the process, and Brooke caught me. He pushed himself to a sitting position. Blood covered his shirt front, and he tugged his shirt up, revealing a wound.

"I see you saved the girl from a bullet, but you were only fast enough to hit me over the head," he grunted out.

"No, I just figured a bullet wouldn't stop you," Brooke said, opening the violin case and taking the violin out. He looked it over before replacing it back in the case and closing it carefully, making sure that my box with the ring was alright first. On closer inspection, the bullet hole was shallow –the ding from earlier must have been it falling.

"I could have taken those guys on," Zoro said, pinching the wound. It was just under his rib on the left side.

"We're not here to fight with ordinary citizens," Brooke said. "The less fighting, the better."

"_Couldn't you have found a way to talk to them?_" Robin's voice came through, a little bit shaky.

"Robin, they shot at us before we could even say a word," Brooke bent down to help Zoro to his feet.

"_I suppose you're right… Well, just don't tell Nami that you ran into more people than necessary. She knows you were shot at –just don't tell her the right numbers._"

"Is she being emotional?" Zoro scoffed, as if it were a bad thing.

"_Zoro_," Robin said, not harsh enough to be a warning, but I think he got the message anyway. "_She's just sensitive to the idea of not being able to save as many people as possible –knowing that you let an entire group disappear just wouldn't be a good idea_."

"Tell Luffy to get a hold on his woman," Zoro muttered. Hurt or not, I was going to smack the guy.

"_He's given her a wake-up call,_" Robin assured him. Her voice softened a bit, "_Are you okay?_"

"I'm fine," Zoro grunted. "It was just a bullet."

"_And –?_"

"It's still inside him," Brooke said. "And it's still bleeding."

"_Hurry up and get back here so we can take care of that,_" She said.

"Let's go back towards the staircase," I said.

"Need help?" Brooke asked Zoro.

"I'm fine," Zoro told him, beginning to walk.

"Zoro," Brooke said.

"What?" he nearly growled at us.

"Stairs are this way," Brooke told him.

"Oh."

* * *

><p><em><span>Zoro<span>_

I held my hand against the wound as I walked. It was still bleeding, but I don't think it hit any vital organs. My head throbbed from Brooke having hit me over the head. But I'd be fine.

"How'd you do it anyway? Hit Zoro so fast?" Suki asked as the two of them walked slightly in front of me.

"With his sword, he's fast enough to take down a group without looking like he's moved a muscle," I told her.

"That's so cool," she told him. She seemed to be fine too.

"Yohoho, you both flatter me," Brooke laughed. "It pleases me to hear such pleasant words!"

He may be an idiot, but I had respect for a fellow swordsman.

"Except you don't have ears to hear with," Suki grinned.

The girl I could live without.

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"Everything all right?" Nami asked.

"Mm," I told her. "Nothing too serious. Zoro's been shot. He's walking on his own though. He should be fine." Or at least fine enough to get back so that I could take care of him.

"That's good," she said. "How are Brooke and that girl?"

"Suki," I told her. "And they're good, too."

"See?" Luffy grinned, still sitting on top of the counter. The others had come back in, away from the bodies.

"Do you regret letting them go?" Nami asked.

"No," I said. "I mean, if they don't regret going, I have no right to regret letting them go."

"Do you wish you went with them?" Loki asked.

"There's not a lot a person can do in those kinds of situations –I'd only be able to get them back here faster," I said, using one of the knives I'd found to cut up fruit, ready for when Zoro and the others came back. Luffy kept on stealing the slices though. I didn't mind. At a time like this I hated to be idling about.

"I know they aren't katana," Nami began slowly, watching me as I cut, "But do you think Zoro could use these knives until we get back to our ship?"

"I'm sure he could," I smiled. I don't know why I hadn't thought of that. It was good to have the old Nami back.

"_Oh, thank god,_" Someone panted, and it wasn't Zoro or the others. Female. "_Please. You have to help me –my friend's pinned under a support beam of the ship –she –she's lost a lot of blood._"

"_Robin?_" Zoro spoke this time.

"_No, her name's Sala_," the girl sounded confused.

"Help her," I told him. Although I wanted to get him back here as soon as possible. The chances of them falling in the same trap twice were slim. Not impossible –but highly unlikely. Especially from the seemingly innocent sounding girl they were dealing with.

"_We'll be up there soon,_" Brooke promised. "_We'll probably need Zoro's strength_."

"I know," I told them. "Go on. First, are you near the stairwell?"

"_It's around the next corner_," Suki said.

"What's the closest room number?" I asked.

"_Umm_," there was silence for a moment. "_Room 563_."

"563," I murmured out loud.

"What's that?" Nami asked.

"563," I repeated. "We're on the sixth floor. We should try to find the area with similar ending numbers. So that we can establish a path to make sure they get back alright, and faster."

"We can rip up left over table cloths into strips, tie them together and make a rope," Nami said.

"Mm," I nodded. "I'll go get the table cloths."

By the time we had the cloth strips torn and ready for us to tie together, Zoro and the other were at the scene. I used my powers to tie all the strips together.

"I'll go with Robin," Nami said, looping the long rope around her hand. "Luffy, stay here, and make sure that… certain people don't get out of hand." As she spoke she cast a long glance at Windsworth, who puffed up with anger.

"Now look here," he said, pointing a finger at Nami. "I'll be damned if you think I have to be watched over by a pirate."

"Calm down," I said before Nami could say another thing. "Don't forget that we're all working towards a common cause –getting out of here."

Windsworth glared at us, but said nothing.

"And, actually, Nami," I turned to her. "I'd prefer it if Luffy came. In case Zoro needs help."

"Zoro's pride will never let him be helped for something like a gunshot wound," she pointed out. Before I could say anything she nodded. "Fine. I'll stay behind with the others."

"Do you want me to –?"

"Don't go stretching your powers in every direction –that's Luffy's fruit power, Robin," she told me, quickly checking over all the knots. The three of us headed to the dining hall. Nami tied the end to the door handle. "Do you think it'll be long enough?"

"We ripped five table cloths into thin strips," I reminded her.

"We should probably take it with us when we move on from here as a group too," she said. "There're so many things we could use it for, especially in a situation like this."

"Mm," I agreed.

"Na~mi," Luffy pulled lightly at her hand, back to the usual childish captain.

"What, Luffy?" she turned to him, only to be captured by his lips. I smiled.

"Miss me, okay?" he told her as he pulled away.

"Whatever," Nami rolled her eyes. "Just go on."

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed.

"Hurry back," Nami told us.

"Mm," I nodded.

The Luffy and I left, unraveling the rope as we walked.

* * *

><p><em><span>Suki<span>_

I was relieved to find out it wasn't another trap. I think even if the person had been suspicious looking, Brooke and Zoro would go along anyway –that was who they were; the kind of people that would help others, even if the chances were slim. And I think if they were any different, I wouldn't have gotten my ring back.

The room we were led to was large, a dance hall, it looked like. There was a stage for a band to play –upside down and on the ceiling –similar to the one that I had played on, but the over all look of the room was cheap compared to where I'd been singing.

And that's what I concentrated on –the décor of the room, rather than all the bodies that were lying around us as we walked to the small group around the beam.

There were two other people, aside from the girl pinned under the support, and the girl that had brought us here. Only one in this group was a male. And he couldn't lift the support himself.

Zoro grabbed the support beam, and the guy nodded at him, "On the count of –"

Zoro lifted the beam all by himself, wound and all, and moved it aside.

"Holy shit," the guy said.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" Brooke held his hand out to the girl –Sala, I think the other girl had said her name was.

"Thank you," she murmured, taking his hand before looking up at his face and screaming. "It's the Soul King!"

"This is not the time, nor place," I told her, taking her other hand and helping her to her feet. "Can you walk?"

"My legs –" she winced.

"Here," the guy said, kneeling in front of her so that she could be carried on his back. He wobbled as he stood up, but refused help from both Zoro and Brooke.

"Would you guys like to come with us?" I asked. "We're going to get off the ship."

"We have other nakama waiting for us on the level above," Brooke told them.

They exchanged glances, but all nodded. "Thank you. We wouldn't know where else to go from here."

"Unless you want to drown, the only way is up," Zoro grunted, his back to us. He had his shirt pulled up, examining the wound once more. I wondered if it was bleeding more, or even still, but with all the blood that covered his shirt front I couldn't tell anyway, and he certainly wasn't going to show us now.

Brooke looked concerned –not that I could tell with his black hole-for-eyes.

Zoro tugged his shirt down, "Let's go."


	14. Love and Pain

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay! Here it is, chapter 13! Finally, everyone's reunited!

I would have had it done earlier, but the weekend was super busy. Saturday was a lot of running around, and Sunday we went on a family trip, and today was just a day where I was in a weird mood -not happy, not sad, but not angry either. And for some reason I just didn't feel ambitious for the majority of the day...

A lot of focus on Robin and Zoro this chapter.

Ahha, as you can tell, I'm pushing Brooke and Suki together more and more...

But enough of that~ Read and enjoy! :)

* * *

><p><strong>Love and Pain<br>**

_Suki_

I couldn't help but notice that Zoro was slightly pale. I was worried. And I could tell Brooke was too. Neither of us said a word though. His pride was too big to accept the help for something as little as a bullet wound.

He had practically said so himself. Minus the pride part, but I knew.

Little… a bullet wound could hardly be considered minor. But I was sure that Robin would take care of him when we got to her.

Jo, the guy that carried Sala, stumbled, and Zoro was the one to catch him.

"Here, I can carry her," Zoro told him.

"But you're bleeding," Jo began.

"It's nothing," Zoro knelt down, waiting for Sala to climb onto his back. She flinched as she stood on the ground, but climbed onto his back. He stood up with relative ease, the only sign of pain a simple grunt. Or, at least, I think it was a sign of pain. It was such a little thing –I couldn't be sure.

"Brooke," I turned to him.

He reached down, squeezing my hand with his boney fingers, "He'll be fine. We'll be fine."

His hand took me by surprise at first, and at first all I could do was stare at his ivory bones on my soft skin. But then I gently squeezed his hand back, closing my eyes for a moment.

"I hope so."

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"Here," I said, coming across the door. Surprising, we only had to turn around and find a different path once. Still, I couldn't help but think that this was such a poorly constructed ship.

"Where are they?" Luffy asked, looking around towards the staircase.

"They should be here soon," I inhaled deeply. I hoped that Zoro was holding up okay.

"Ehhhh, they're so slow," Luffy grumbled, sinking down onto the ground.

I couldn't help but smile. I was starting to think that Luffy acted that way purposefully. To keep our spirits uplifted, even though we all thought he was an idiot. He was probably more intelligent than any of us could imagine –when he tried.

Luffy tilted his head. Then he brightened, jumping to his feet and rushing to the steps. "They're coming!"

"Luffy," I heard Brooke call up to him. "Yohohoho! It's so good to see you!"

"But you don't have eyes to see with," Suki said from beside him.

I could see them now too. And that meant Zoro too. Oh, he looked so pale. And there was so much blood on his shirtfront. I felt my heart speed up in fear, but his eyes were still strong, and I knew that with Zoro that was the important thing: his will to live. No matter how many times you pushed him down, he'd get back up and start walking –probably in the wrong direction, but hey, at least he'd be okay.

"Zoro," I began, letting my extra ears and lips disappear, then noticed he was carrying a girl on his back. "Luffy, take the girl."

"It's her legs –they were pinned down by –"

"It's fine," I reassured the girl that had started speaking. "Once we get out of here, we'll have our doctor look at her legs."

Luffy took the girl, and I moved beside Zoro, taking his face in my hands. A cold sweat covered his skin, and I frowned deeply, staring up into his eyes.

"I'm fine," he murmured.

"No, you're not," I replied quietly.

"Compared to the damage I've taken before, this is nothing," he said. I reached for his shirt, ready to pull it up and have a look, but he took my hands in his, "It can wait until we get off the ship."

"Or, it can wait until we get back to the kitchen," I told him.

"Robin –"

"You're not negotiating this," I said.

"You're so stubborn," he muttered.

"We both are," I smiled at him. I turned to the rest of the group. "Well, let's start heading back."

"It's nice to meet you," Suki told Luffy, bowing slightly. "Please take care of me."

"Mm," Luffy nodded happily.

"Oh, Luffy, I nearly died," Brooke said as we started walking.

"But you're already dead," Suki's hand wrapped around Brooke's as they walked.

"Yohoho! Skull joke!" Brooke laughed.

"Shishishi," Luffy chuckled. He turned to me, "Robin! She's like Brooke! But a girl!"

"And alive," Suki added tentatively.

"Shishishi," Luffy only laughed again. "I like you. Join our crew."

She opened her mouth, then closed it, before finally saying, "I'll think about it."

"We already have one musician," Zoro muttered beside me.

I lifted his arm, slipping underneath and wrapping my arm around his waist. "Better?"

"I was fine –"

"Zoro," I told him sternly. "You can put your weight on me. I'm here for you, so use me. Let me help."

He hesitated, but finally grumbled, "Fine."

He did put a little more weight on me, but I knew it wasn't as much as he probably needed. He would never fully place his burden on me. And while I respected him for handling situations like this on his own, I could only wish he'd start treating all of us like we all treated him.

"All for one, and one for all," I murmured under my breath.

"What?" Zoro asked.

"Nothing," I smiled at him. "Just mumbling to myself."

All of us walked in silence for a little while. Well, Luffy hummed lightly, but otherwise it was silent.

"So what are your names?" I asked after a while.

"Jo," the guy said. He wore a shirt that bore the ship's crest –a worker.

"I'm Ino," I recognized the girl's voice –she was the one that had gotten Zoro and the others to help the girl –Sala –that was now on Luffy's back. She was well built, toned. Her clothes told me that she was likely to work on the ship, like Jo, rather than to be here on vacation.

"I'm Tsunaka," the other girl said. She had wide eyes that would have usually bore innocence. It was too bad that situations like these ripped people away from their youth. Unlike the other three, I found her more likely to be here with her family, since she was still fairly young.

"Sala," the girl on Luffy's back glanced over her shoulder. Although I couldn't see the front of her shirt, the colours of both the shirt and pants put her in the same group as Ino and Jo.

"I'm Robin," I told them. "And that's Luffy. I assume you've been introduced properly to Zoro, Brooke and Suki?"

"Mm," Ino nodded.

"We'll try our hardest to get you all out of here with us," I told them, looking up at Zoro's face, then down at our captain, "Right Luffy?"

"Of course," Luffy grinned.

After a few minutes, we arrived back at the dining hall. Nami, Loki and the old couple sat at a table on the far side of the room. Nami's arms were crossed stubbornly, and I knew whatever had happened, hadn't happened on good terms.

"You guys are back," Nami stood up, her shoulders relaxing upon seeing us. "And you brought more people –good."

"Mm," Luffy agreed, taking the girl over to the table and sitting her down on the chair. He gave Nami a hug, smiling as he did so.

"What are you doing?" Nami asked.

"Hugging you," Luffy murmured contently.

She didn't say anything more to Luffy, just looked up at me and Zoro and said "You look like shit."

"Here," I said, leading Zoro to the nearest table before he could retort something nasty to her, "Let me look at you."

"Not here," Zoro murmured in my ear.

"You're right," I said. "The kitchen should have a first aid kit."

I changed the course for the kitchen. As we entered, Mariko and Windsworth looked up.

"There are more people now," I told them, slipping Zoro's hand over my head.

"More pirates?" Windsworth sneered.

"Yes," Zoro said bluntly.

"Great, just what we need," he rolled his eyes.

"Are they also straw-hats?" Mariko asked.

"Mm," I smiled down at her. "Then we have three of the cruise's workers, and another normal guest. Now, if you could give us space here…"

"There's enough space to do whatever you want," Windsworth muttered.

"Get. The. Hell. Out." Zoro grinded through his teeth. I placed a hand on his arm. Windsworth looked completely and utterly shocked.

"Mariko –" I began gently.

"Mm," she nodded, taking her father's hand. "Let's go, dad."

Still in a slight shock, he let her lead him away. Well, Zoro _did_ have that effect on people.

"Here," I said, making sure the kitchen door was shut properly sticking a spatula between the two handles to make sure no one came in. "Let's see the wound."

"I'm fine," he said.

"Zoro," I said firmly. When he didn't say anything, I reached for his shirt, peeling it up and over his head. Blood was smeared across his chest and abdomen, and the wound was there clearly. I let out a slow breath as I stretched my hand out and touched the skin beside it gently. He didn't even have the slightest sharp intake of breath. My Zoro had nerves of steel. This was why Chopper was always worried about him.

"Zoro," I murmured again as more blood oozed out slowly. At least it was slowing down. "Zoro…"

"It doesn't hurt," he said, taking my hand in his and kissing my now bloody fingertips.

"I need to get the bullet out," I told him, collecting myself. I looked around. There really _should _be a medical kit around here somewhere.

"Robin," he said, pulling me to him as I began to walk away in search of one. His lips crashed against mine, our teeth clashing slightly. It was a raw, needy kiss. We hadn't been away from one another for very long, but it was still too long, after all. I wrapped my arms around his neck. Between kisses, I could hear him murmuring my name.

I felt a tear fall down my face, taking the both of us by surprise when it touched our tongues, the bittersweet taste a total contrast to the kiss itself. Zoro pulled away, lifting his hand to my cheek and wiping away any other tears with his thumb.

"I love you," he told me, placing a kiss on my forehead.

"I love you too," I clenched my fists behind his neck, then placed the bridge of my nose against his collarbone. No matter where we touched, how we touched, we seemed to fit perfectly together.

"I'll be fine. I really have been through worse," he said again.

"I know," I told him, placing a gentle kiss there on his collar bone before I straightened up and looked at him. "But, I'm allowed to worry, aren't I?"

"I'd prefer it if you didn't worry," he told me.

"So long as you aim down the dangerous road of world's greatest swordsman, then I'm going to keep worrying," I said, gazing into his dark eyes.

"It's no more dangerous than your own dream," he told me.

I gave him a half-hearted smile as I nodded:

"And since neither of us are going to stop before we reached our dream, I suppose we'll be constantly worrying about each other."


	15. Power

**A/N:** Sorrrrrrrrry guys. Wednesday and Thursday I was helping my older sister babysit, and when you have an army of kids around, you either don't have the time to write, or you just get plain distracted... I was even trying to work on a one-shot for "Of Dreams, Clouds and Mikans" but I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. But I will -you might see it up by the end of the day :P

On a happy note, I drew with chalk on the driveway for the first time in AGES! XD  
>I kinnnnnda want to blow bubbles, but the weather's just been plain awful...<p>

Ohhhh, and I'm busy Sunday, so I might try to get a chapter up tomorrow instead... or, if not, definitely Monday. But I will surely try for tomorrow rather than Monday :P

If you haven't already, please check out my personal novel [accessible through my profile] :) And if you have -then tell me what you think via personal message! :P

Hmmm... I guess that's about it :P

Enjoy~!

* * *

><p><strong>Power<strong>

_Nami_

I knocked on the door to the kitchen before testing it. It would open a bit, but not any further. On closer inspection I saw that it was held shut with some kind of utensil. Robin's makeshift lock.

For a moment, I wondered how 'safe' it would be to enter. I mean, in this type of situation they couldn't be –

"Hello?" Robin called cautiously.

"It's just me," I told her.

"Oh," she appeared, taking out the spatula. I pushed the door open, and I'll admit I was slightly surprised to see her fully clothed, but I didn't say anything. She went back to Zoro, who sat shirtless on the counter. "Need anything?"

"Fresh water, for Sala," I went to the sink, turning on the tap. After a few moments it slowed to a drip, and then stopped completely. "Shit."

"What's wrong?" she asked, picking up a bandage roll.

"The water… of course it's not working," I tossed the cloth down angrily, gripping the edge of the sink. "If there's no power, then –"

"Power?" Zoro asked as Robin wrapped a bandage around his chest. "There are lights that are working."

"But not all lights are working," I said. "There must be different generators. This is a large ship… One source of power wouldn't be enough."

"So the area above us is going to be heavy with machinery," Robin said slowly.

"Among other things, yes," I said, picking up the cloth again, wetting it in the little water I did have. "Shouldn't they have barrels of water? We should probably bring some of those along too."

"There's plenty of water a level below us," Zoro muttered.

"But it's sea water," I said, heading for the door. Then I stopped short –"How far has the water risen?"

"I'd say it's below us one level," Zoro shrugged.

"Ba-ka," I gritted out. "Robin, hurry it up, and locate those barrels of water. We need to hurry. I thought we had more time."

I went out into the dining hall, hurrying towards the group. I knelt in front of Sala, examining her legs quickly before placing the cloth against it, wiping away the blood. The cuts there weren't all that deep, but I could imagine it was painful.

"You seem rushed," Loki commented.

"I am," I murmured, ripping a table cloth up and wrapping it tightly around Sala's leg. She winced, but didn't say anything.

"Why?"

"We need to continue moving on," I told him, tying the cloth off and looking up at her, "Is it too tight?"

"No, it's fine," she said.

I proceeded with the next leg, "Zoro says the water's probably up to the level below us already. Knowing that not all paths are available means we need as much time as possible to be able to backtrack and find another way –if the water's rising fast, there's less time. Had we not been waiting for everyone to meet up, believe me; we would have long been out of here."

"So our chance of survival has been lowered because we had to wait for _pirates_?" Windsworth sneered.

"Is Zoro all right?" Suki asked, ignoring Windsworth. She was quick to learn.

"He looked fine," I said, tying off the second bandage. I stood up, looking over everyone. They all seemed to be well enough to continue on.

"Yohoho! That's good to hear," Brooke chuckled.

"Except you don't have ears to hear with," Suki murmured quietly. "Skull joke."

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed. "I _really _like you! Join my crew!"

"Luffy," I warned him.

"I don't see why anyone would want to become a stinkin' pirate," Windsworth said loudly.

"Because I want to become Pirate King!" Luffy grinned.

"We have our reasons," I said, looking at Windsworth. "As I'm sure you have your reasons for hating pirates. However, we're not all the miscreants you think we are."

"There's no such thing as a good pirate," Windsworth muttered.

"How do you know that?" Loki asked, squaring his shoulders. "You haven't met all the pirates in the world."

"Because only bad guys become pirates!"

"Bad guys can become Marines too!" Loki snapped. "So why can't good people become pirates?"

"Because it's simply not done," Windsworth crossed his arms in front of him.

"How narrow-minded," Robin said as she walked into the room. She had the bag of fruit over her shoulder, and her extra arms brought along three barrels. Zoro had another on his shoulder. His shirt looked like it had been attempted to be washed, but blood still remained. "Here, let's go. Let's save the arguing for when we get out of here."

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"Left~ Right~ Left~ Right~ Tsunami hit the ship tonight~" Luffy sang as we walked along the hallways. "Down is up~ Up is down~ Brooke is still wearing his crown~"

"Luffy, stop," Nami said.

"Yohoho, I think Luffy's quite clever," Brooke laughed.

"Shishishi, thank you!" Luffy grinned. But he didn't continue. Instead he hummed.

We walked along fairly silently. All of us were tired, no doubt. I didn't know what time it was, but it had to be well past midnight. Mariko yawned, and to my surprise, Windsworth picked her up, carrying her in his arms. Sala was being carried by Jo. Tsunaka and Ino stayed close to the two, feeling ultimately more comfortable with friends. Nami and Luffy were at the front, Suki and Brooke right behind them, Loki and the old couple following close behind. Zoro and I took up the rear, transporting the water barrels. Windsworth and Mariko were right in front of us.

The lights went out, and two of the girls screamed. It was pitch black, and in the confusion, everyone seemed to bump into each other. I heard a thud, as if someone had hit the ground, then there was a yelp. Shouting, of course, also ensued.

"I can't see!" Brooke was shouting. "Oh my goodness –I can't see! Wait! I don't have eyes to see with! Yohoho! Skull joke!" There was a pause. "On a serious note, it's pitch black in here."

"Ow!" Someone said. "Someone just –"

"Sorry!"

"Everybody stop!" Nami's sharp voice snapped. Everything went silent. "Is everyone okay? Who screamed?"

"Sala and Tsunaka," Jo said, resentfully. I wondered if Sala's scream had been right in his ear.

"Are they okay?"

"It just took us by surprise," Tsunaka said.

"Mm," Sala agreed.

"How're Ojii-san and Obaa-san?" Nami asked.

"We're fine," Ojii-san said.

"Mariko?"

"I'm okay," her little voice piped up from a little in front of us.

There was a bit of shuffling, and another yelp.

"Suki?" I heard Brooke say.

"Oww- yeah, it's me," she said.

"Did I –"

"It was just my finger, I'm fine," she said. She made a noise, as if she were lifted to her feet. My eyes had adjusted to the dark slightly, and I saw Brooke set her down once more. She murmured, "Thanks."

"So everyone's okay?" Nami asked.

"Mm," everyone chorused.

"Another generator must have failed," she muttered quietly.

"Can't we light a torch or something?" Loki asked.

"If you can produce the material we need, then go right ahead," Nami said.

"So now what?"

"We feel along the wall," Nami said. "Wait for our eyes to adjust. We can't waste time."

"Does it matter which wall?" Tsunaka asked.

"Let's just make it the right wall," Nami said. "That way at least you know if the person in front of you has stopped. Robin, are you still doing okay with the barrels?"

"Yes," I told her.

"Then let's get going."

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

Luffy yawned behind me, "Nami, I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry," I murmured. "Just wait, all right, Luffy? We'll eat later. Sanji'll probably cook us a delicious meal when he saves us."

"I miss my straw-hat," Luffy said.

"I'm sure it's still in the locker," I reassured him.

"It better be," he grumbled.

"Nami," Robin began from the back.

"Ack!" Someone shouted.

"What's wrong?" I stopped. Luffy bumped into me, then someone into him, and so on and so forth. I almost fell backwards, but Luffy wrapped his arm around me, keeping me steady on my feet.

"I feel water," Ino said.

"Robin is one of the –"

"That's what I wanted to say –I think the water's catching up with us. None of the barrels are dripping," she said. "The water just slid by my arms –not down them."

"Shit," I said, starting to walk again. I could feel it now, and I could hear the sloshing as we walked. "We're almost to the staircase, I think, so we should be fine."

"You think?" Windsworth spoke up loudly.

"We are," I said firmly, feeling my way along the wall. I could see a little in from of me, with my eyes adjusting to the dark, I could see a little in front of me. Behind me I could hear Ino, Tsunaka, Sala and Jo talking quietly.

"You don't sound sure of yourself," he continued to persist. I hated that guy. I really did.

"Just shut up," Zoro growled from the back.

No one said a word.


	16. Newfound Hope

**A/N:** Ahha! Woot! Two chapters in two days XD I haven't done this in a long while. It's kinda refreshing to do again :P

At this point, I'm saying there's, at most, four chapters left. Maybe three... MAYBE five (though I really think four is more likely than five...)  
>Well, we'll see how I take this :P<p>

So, yes! I'm busy tomorrow, which is the entire reason for this update today. And because I haven't been able to update a lot lately, I thought you guys deserved this, since you're always so patient.

The last two chapters, I feel that the story lines progressed a lot. And even more so with the turn of events in this chapter XD Is it sad that I'm excited for my own story? Nerd alert~ XD Just kidding. I really do love writing this story. I'm always wondering what kind of situations I can get them into that they can't get past so easily... I mean, we have a demon and Luffy in the group, so the actual impossibilities are few and far between...

Annnnyway~ Lots of different POVs in this chapter~

Enjoy~ :D

* * *

><p><strong>New-found Hope<br>**

_Nami_

"Shit."

"What's wrong?" Loki asked.

"The door to the staircase is locked," I muttered, shaking the handle.

"Break it down," Zoro said from the back.

"I am _never_ letting you break anything down again while we're on this ship," I retorted, kicking the door for good measure.

"Can I break the door?" Luffy asked.

"No."

"The water's up past our ankles," Windsworth reminded. I reallllly wanted to hit the guy. I clenched my fists tightly to keep myself from doing so.

"I know you don't want to break the door down," Robin said. "But if the water's already this high, isn't it better to force our way ahead?"

"But that might alter the rate the water rises at," I murmured, placing a hand on the solid door.

Suki sneezed.

"Are you okay?" Brooke asked.

"Just a bit cold," she said quietly.

We needed to hurry. Could we find clear path to another staircase before the water was up to our necks?

"If only I had my swords," Zoro muttered.

"Oh," Robin said suddenly.

"If only I had my hat," Luffy grumbled.

"Give it a rest," I told him. "You'll get it soon enough."

"Here," Robin's voice drifted from the back of the group.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Well, Zoro doesn't have his katana, so I grabbed a few of the knives from the kitchen instead," she said.

"So he really _is_ Zoro Roronoa," One of the girls murmured. "I had my doubts because of the lack of swords."

Zoro murmured something inaudible even in the silence. I shivered as the water lapped across dry skin, unaccustomed to the cold.

"If you're going to cut the door down, come here and do it already," I told him.

He said something under his breath as he approached. The sound of the water splashing about was the only sound for a few moments. Water sprayed my legs. Then he stopped walking.

"Move."

* * *

><p><em><span>Zoro<span>_

I gripped the thin handle of the knife, and immediately didn't like it. They felt completely and utterly unnatural against my palms. I hated them.

I didn't see how Sanji could cook with such things.

Still, I clenched my hands around the handle. For a simple thing like cutting down a door, I didn't need to go all out. It'd just be a waste of energy.

Inhaling deeply, I closed my eyes.

And then, with a swift motion, I cut the door down.

* * *

><p><em><span>Back on the Thousand Sunny<span>_

Sanji walked along the deck. It was still dark out, and it still felt like they weren't going fast enough. He looked up at Franky, who knew just how much the ship could take –but couldn't it take _just_ a bit more? Every little thing helped.

As he paced, his foot came down on a folded piece of paper, and his foot slid out beneath him. Sanji caught himself, and frowned as he picked it up, wondering how on earth the paper had gotten there. He looked around, ready to give Chopper or Usopp shit, but neither were in sight, and no giggling could be heard.

As he lit another cigarette, he looked at the paper. It was completely blank on both sides, except for a messy scrawl in the corner that was completely undecipherable, at least in the dark. With a sigh, Sanji held his match up to the sheet, having no use for it otherwise…

* * *

><p><em><span>Sanji<span>_

I held the match there for a long moment, frowning when the piece of paper failed to catch the flame. Blowing out the match, I struck a new one, but it was the same thing.

I took the piece of paper with me, climbing the stairs to go up to the next deck. I entered the kitchen, looking at it in the light. The scrawl in the corner was so messy… Maybe it was Luffy's handwriting? The idiot needed to learn how to write more clearly.

Studying it more, I sat down at the table.

_N_… Yes, that first letter was definitely an 'N'. Or maybe it was a 'I' and a 'V'? And the next letter definitely resembled an 'A'… The more I looked at it, the more the word started to look like 'Nami'. And I supposed it was possible. But why just write her name on a piece of paper?

It made no sense.

Then again, he _was_ an idiot.

I set the piece of paper on the table. I placed the lit end of my cigarette to the surface, but still it didn't burn. I sighed, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. I was clearly over thinking this. I placed the cigarette to my lips, inhaling deeply.

I looked down again, the cigarette falling from my mouth, tumbling to the ground, in my surprise. I jumped to my feet, grabbing the piece of paper and planting a huge kiss on the one side.

"EUUUUUUUREEEEKKKKAAAA~! NAMI-SWAAAAAN~! ROBIN-CHWAAAAAAAN~! I'M COMING TO SAVE YOOOOOOUUUUUU~!"

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

I sneezed.

"Are you okay?" Luffy asked.

"I just had a creepy feeling," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. Was someone talking about me?

"Let's go," Zoro said. I heard a clank as he tossed the knife aside.

"Why'd you do that?" I asked.

"The blade broke," his dark figure shrugged.

"Well, we only have a limited number of knives," Robin said. "Maybe we'll have to use them wisely. We can't just cut down every obstacle in our path…"

"Well, damn," I said. "I guess he's still useless in the end anyway."

"Oi!" Zoro began.

I laughed, "I'm kidding. Good job, Zoro."

"Are you sick?" was his next response.

"No," I said, heading for the stairwell. Under my breath I muttered, "Just sick and tired of being in this mess."

* * *

><p><em><span>Suki<span>_

I sneezed again as we climbed the stairs. I think I was going to hate water after this.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Brooke asked from behind me.

"Like I said, I'm just cold," I told him. "I was the idiot that sat in the water when everything seemed hopeless."

Brooke was silent for a few moments, and then suddenly something was wrapped around my shoulders. As I grabbed it, I realized it was Brooke's jacket.

"I –I can't take this," I told him, turning to hand it back.

"Keep moving," Nami edged from in above us.

"You can," Brooke turned me back around and pushed me forward and up the stairs. "And you will. It's dry –"

"But you'll get –"

"Cold?" he laughed. "Suki-chan, I'm a skeleton! Yohoho, I don't have a nerve system that _can_ get cold!"

I tightened my grip on his jacket, murmuring, "Thank you."

* * *

><p><em><span>On another part of the ship<span>_

"That skeleton was so scary," One guy muttered, shivering just at the thought of it.

Water splashed as they walked in the dark hallways.

"What was that thing that came out of its mouth?" Another guy wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"I just can't believe we let that girl get away. She was that singer, right? Suki or whatever?" A third guy inputted.

"Think we'll see them again?" The first guy asked.

"What does it matter?"

All of them turned to look at their leader.

"It's not like we'll live much longer anyway."

"But –"

"Need I remind you what the hull of the ship is made from?" the leader of the group said. "Do you really think we can break through the Seastone?"

All of them fell to silence.

What a depressing cruise…

* * *

><p><em><span>Franky<span>_

"_EUUUUUUUREEEEKKKKAAAA~! NAMI-SWAAAAAN~! ROBIN-CHWAAAAAAAN~! I'M COMING TO SAVE YOOOOOOUUUUUU~!"_

I looked over my shoulder at Sanji's shouting. I strolled to the railing that looked out towards the stern of the ship, just in time to see Sanji burst out the kitchen door. Usopp and Chopper came out of the men's quarters, as Sanji hurried up to me.

"What's the big fuss?" Usopp asked.

"This," Sanji waved a piece of paper around. We all looked at him blankly.

"Well, what is it?" I asked when no one else did.

"Our ticket to saving Nami-swan and Robin-chwan!"

"Reeeeaaallly?" Chopper looked hopeful.

"Mm," Sanji said. "I'm pretty sure this is a vivre card, so all we have to do is –"

"Change course for the direction the paper is pointing," I finished, crossing my arms and nodding. This was awesome –no! This was SUPER!

"So which was is it pointing?" Chopper asked.

Sanji placed the paper on the deck, then pointed his finger in the same direction. "To port!"

"To port!" Everyone else cheered as I grabbed the helm, changing our course.

"I'm going to go up to the crow's nest, to see if I can spot anything," Sanji said, grabbing the paper as the wind picked up. "I'll speak over the speaker if the card starts pointing in another direction!"

"This is great!" Chopper said as Sanji disappeared.

"The vivre card was still intact too," I nodded.

"Isn't that just because she hasn't been injured yet?" Usopp asked. "If she drowns, won't it just burst into flame?"

"Oi! Don't say that!" Chopper said.

"Nami, Luffy, Robin, Zoro and Brooke won't drown," I reassured the reindeer. "After all –none of them have reached their dreams yet."


	17. Walkway of Doom

**A/N:** Soooooorrrrry for the delay. I know it's been a while, but you know when you stumble across a new site, and you spend a few days just kinda learning the ropes? Yeah, well, that's been me :P BUT I did get a chapter up today :D

Anyway, this is a pretty intense chapter. Like, INTENSE. Dun dun dun duuuuuuunnnnn...

This has to be my shortest chapter yet for this story. But I HAD to end it where I did... You'll see. It's like, the best place to end a chapter. Well, you -as a reader -might disagree. But as a writer, you should all agree :) Bringing up the level of suspense... Especially because it doesn't seem like anyone can determine when my next update will be. I'll be aiming for Friday -which I guess is Tomorrow, in all sense of ""...

Don't hate me :)

Anyway, read and enjoy~!

* * *

><p><strong>Walkway of Doom<strong>

_Nami_

We reached the top of the stairwell. The number of flights we took brought me to believe we had climbed two floors rather than one. The light flight we had had to take had been a slope. Luffy had to climb up to the top, then pull everyone else up into small hallway. While he did that I walked to the end, to the large doors. By the noise that was coming from the opposite side of the heavy door, it really looked like we were in the lowest part of the ship –the engine room.

Despite all the other problems, the door opened with ease. I walked forward… and pitched forward, into the abyss of the darkness. I shot out my foot, hoping there was more ground beneath me, but there was nothing. I let out a scream as I fell through the air, hoping the floor wasn't that far below.

Luffy's arm went around my waist, yanking me to a stop. I felt like throwing up, but held it in as he reeled me back up onto what I guessed was only a metal walkway.

"Thank you," I murmured.

"What happened?" Robin asked.

"I fell," I said nonchalantly, placing my hand against my chest. My heart was beating so rapidly. I don't remember the last time I had been so frightened… Well, except for when the tsunami hit.

"Are you okay?"

I didn't reply, instead I got down on all fours, feeling the bottom of the door. There was nothing below the edge. Had the floor caved?

Then a moment passed me where I felt like a complete idiot. I felt up the wall on the other side of the threshold, until my hand touched metal. I wrapped my fingers around the horizontal bar, and then slid along it until the side of my hand touched more metal. Another moment of wrapping my fingers around the shape assured me it was another bar, this one perpendicular to the other.

I had forgotten that the ship was upside down.

Not that I'd ever admit it.

I stretched out, grabbing the horizontal bar with both hands, testing its strength before swinging out into the air. The entire thing seemed to creak, but it held me.

"Nami?" Luffy asked.

I still didn't reply, instead I swung my leg up between the vertical bars. I grabbed the vertical bars by the top, the stretched upward, feeling for the walkway. It was metal, suspended in the wide open engine room. I let my arms fall back to the horizontal bar.

"Nami?" Luffy said my name again.

"Just, hold on," I muttered, bringing my legs down. I hung there for a moment, then shifted my weight to one hand, swinging my body around one-eighty to face the opposite railing. I brought my legs up against, this time being able to climb to the top of the walkway. It still creaked with every movement.

"Nami?" he repeated my name once more.

"Okay!" I said, standing up and putting my hands on my waist. "There's a metal walkway here, you guys –"

"But you just said you fell," Ino interrupted.

"-The only thing is that the ship's upside down, so the metal walkway is above your heads. Luffy, you're going to have to climb up here, and then help get everyone up."

"All right," he said. The walkway seemed to shift as he grabbed a hold of it, pulling himself up.

"Wait," I said as he stood up, ready to pull up the others. "One at a time. Let's start with Mariko, and then the other girls."

"Is there a problem, Nami?" Robin asked.

"After being rolled around on the sea, I'm not sure how much weight this thing will support," I told her. I reached out, touching Luffy's arm. "I'm going to go and scout ahead. Don't bring anyone up until I know it's safe."

"Mm," he agrees.

Cautiously, I start walking. I feel for solid ground with one foot before actually putting my weight down. I don't know how far I walked before the toe hit something hard as I brought my foot up. The sound of metal being struck sounded through the empty space around us.

I let out a curse as my toe erupted in pain.

"Everything okay?" they called.

"Yeah," I replied, kneeling down and rubbing my toe. I felt with my hands for what I had hit. As I felt along the metal walkway, my fingers felt an edge. As I lifted my hand away, it hit the same thing my toe had hit.

I let out another string of curses.

"Nami?"

"I'm fine," I muttered. I felt along the object, trying to figure out what it was in the dark. It was long, and flat, when I came across the corner, I felt a small square post. I followed the post up to another small platform before I realized it was stairs. I had found stairs.

I climbed up them, and I realized the metal had stopped creaking. This area must be supported better than the first part of the walkway. Satisfied with that knowledge alone, I retreated, ready to bring along everyone else.

* * *

><p><em><span>Suki<span>_

"What are they doing? Trying to go first? Trying to save themselves?" Windsworth growled.

"Do you ever shut up?" Zoro growled from the back.

"Let's get Mariko up here," Nami said from above.

"If my daughters going up, I'm going up too," Windsworth said.

No one said anything for a moment.

"Fine," Nami said finally. "But Mariko is still coming up first."

Mariko giggled as her shape disappeared from the darkness, her figure being carried out into the pure black in front of us. If I didn't know it was Luffy, I would have said that a sea monster had taken her.

The sound of Nami and Mariko's footsteps retreating filled the silence.

"Yohoho! The silence is deafening," Brooke laughed.

"You don't have ears to hear with," I pulled his jacket tighter around me.

"Skull j–"

"Do you think there are dead people in here?" Ino asked quietly, interrupting Brooke.

I closed my eyes, trying not to imagine a pile of bodies on the floor below us, however far it may be. I tried not to imagine lifeless eyes reflecting the darkness. Unable to keep myself from doing so, I knelt down by the door, bending over to throw up.

Brooke's boney fingers came to rest on my back a moment, trying to comfort me.

"Are you okay?" One of the other girls asked me.

"I'm fine," I muttered, taking a deep breath.

Nami returned.

"Windsworth," she said.

His presence beside me disappeared, leaving the doorway completely open, with me by the edge and Brooke standing behind me. I realized then, that all it wouldn't take much to fall from where I stood, and moved back.

"Here," Nami said above us.

"I can find my own way –Mariko, talk to me."

"Over here, daddy," her voice travelled. Windsworth headed towards the source.

"Tsunaka, you're next, okay?" Nami said.

"Mm," she replied, moving forward.

"We're okay down here," Mariko called.

Tsunaka's presence disappeared then too.

Ino's turn was next. Then Sala's. I think Nami had to practically carry the girl the entire way across. Her voice floated back as she told Sala to sit there –wherever there was.

Then it was my turn.

"No –not yet. Obaa-san can go first," I told them, backing away from the doorway. Suddenly the thought of walking across a platform with no railings scared me. Like, _really_ scared me.

Nami didn't hesitate before agreeing, "You're right. All right, Luffy, let's get Obaa-san and Ojii-san up here."

They both moved forward, then suddenly one disappeared. She let out a startled cry.

"Sorry, Obaa-san," Nami told her. "Let's get you to safety."

"Who are you?" Obaa-san's voice trailed back to us.

"Are you okay?" Brooke asked as she walked away.

"Just… yeah, I'm fine," I said, not wanting to burden him. It was an irrational fear. I'd never fallen from a height… But the thought of falling onto a pile of bodies… I nearly gagged. But I didn't.

"Ojii-san," Nami said. He disappeared too.

Now that I thought about it, that was kind of scary too.

"Daddy –No! Let's wait for them!" Mariko started shouting.

"Hey!" Jo called out.

"Everybody stop!" Nami called out.

"I'm not going to follow damn pirates to our death!" Windsworth cried out.

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

I didn't know what was going on –Suddenly everyone was shouting. While Luffy helped Ojii-san up, I hurried back to the stairs.

"Oi!" I called out.

"Daddy –No!" Mariko called out again. "Please –just stop! They're not bad people! They're trying to help!"

"Mariko –listen to me," Windsworth nearly roared.

"No –Daddy!" she shouted.

"Hey!" Tsunaka said, as if she was being shoved about. "Careful!"

"Oi!" I said again as I neared.

Suddenly there was a scream. I didn't know whose it was. Then there was another scream.

Then there was the deafening sound as someone hit the surface below.


	18. Silence

**A/N: **Annnnnnnd voila! Another chapter!

I have sooooo many reviews to respond to... and I'll get to them, promise.

Ahha, I started this author's note, having so much to say... Now I can't remember half of what I wanted to...

Oh! I'm starting to think that this fanfiction will have more like 20-23 chapters in total... Every time I think I'm speeding things along, I tend to make these chapters where they don't move forward... But we'll see :P

Well, I guess that's all, since i can't remember what else I wanted to mention...

Enjoy! :D

* * *

><p><strong>Silence<strong>

* * *

><p><em><span>Suki<span>_

At first, no one said a word. My fingers grasped Brooke's jacket tightly, and at some point he peeled my fingers away and held my hand. We waited for someone to speak. No one did.

"This silence is deafening," Brooke murmured beside me.

I didn't reply, and he didn't continue.

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

As much as I hated to admit it, there was a part of me that wished –more than that the dull sound that seemed to echo through this wide open room was nothing but our imaginations –that it was that damn man that had fallen instead.

I felt ashamed, but rather him than one of the women.

Zoro shifted his position beside me. Had we been there, perhaps we'd have more of a sense of who fell, but at this point, it could have been anyone –including Nami.

* * *

><p><em><span>Zoro<span>_

I hoped it was the pirate-hating bastard.

* * *

><p><em><span>Luffy<span>_

The Ojii-san held my hand. I think he was worried about his wife. I was rubber, so it didn't hurt, but with each passing second his grip seemed to tighten.

I didn't think it was Nami, but with the way no one was speaking you'd think they'd all had fallen.

I cleared my throat, hoping for some kind of response.

Nothing.

"Nami?"

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

"Nami?" Luffy's voice seemed to echo.

"I'm fine," I replied, brushing my hair back behind my ear. "Obaa-san?"

"She's fine," Ino said. As if to confirm it, Obaa-san started murmuring her nonsense. I had left Obaa-san in Ino's care while I went back for Ojii-san. "Tsunaka?"

"I'm fine," the girl mumbled.

"Mariko?" I asked.

"I'm okay," she responded, sounding like she was on the brink of tears. "Dad?"

He didn't reply.

"Daddy?" she probed again.

"I," he began, his voice no louder than a whisper. "I didn't mean to."

A sudden panic-filled tension filled the air around us.

"Sala?" Ino and Tsunaka both called out simultaneously. No response. "Sala?"

"I didn't mean to," Windsworth murmured once more. "I swear –the walkway's narrow, I –I –"

"You killed Sala!" Ino shouted at him.

"Calm down," I reached for her hand, brushing her knee in the dark instead. "We don't know for sure yet if she's dead."

Ino slapped my hand away, not wanting to be comforted. I inhaled deeply, understanding, and straightened back up.

"Luffy," I called out, "Help Ojii-san over here, then lower me down. I'll confirm whether or not that Sala's… all right."

He was silent for a moment before he said, "Mm. Just a second."

"Watch your…" my voice trailed off, the warning in vain. Someone had fallen off. Even Luffy knew to watch his step. The walkway creaked as they walked over. When they arrived, I helped lead Ojii-san to Obaa-san, then took Luffy's hand. "Luffy?"

"Mm," he replied, tightening his fingers around mine.

Still holding his hand, I felt my way over to the stairs, where Sala had to sit because of her legs. I had helped her onto the highest step there was. Eight above the walkway. If Windsworth had been going up the stairs, he must have accidentally knocked her over.

Although I didn't like the man, I didn't think he'd knock over an ordinary girl –and by ordinary, I meant a non-pirate –on purpose. Not with his daughter there. Because I remembered that thankful look he had first given us when we rescued him and Mariko from their room. He wasn't a bad man.

"Here, lower me down," I told Luffy, guiding his hands to my armpits.

"Mm," he said once again, then did as I told him.

As I got closer to the ground –or the ceiling –I kept on wondering what I would find on the bottom. Would it just be Sala, or would there be a pile of bodies, of the many workers that had been down here?

I stretched my toes downward, and they touched metal, and I breathed a sigh of relief –until my heels stepped on something that moved beneath my weight. I closed my eyes and moved my feet quickly, before Luffy let go, his hand trailing further down my arm until his hand touched mine, telling me that he was there for me.

I held his hand as I crouched down; feeling for what it was that I had stepped on. My fingers brushed cold fingers, and I jumped back, stepping on something else that shifted under my feet, but unlike the fingers this was large and round. An arm? A leg? I didn't want to know.

Either way, I still knelt down and felt, to make sure. Another cold body. I shivered, but didn't jump away.

Even if Sala had… well, she wouldn't be this cold already. I kept searching, all the while holding Luffy's hand.

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

"We should go up too," I said. "One at a time."

"Suki, you should go first," Brooke said.

"No!" she said with a little more force than necessary.

"Are you scared?" I asked tentatively.

"No," she denied.

"Brooke can go with you," I told her. "The man can run on water, I'm sure the walkway can hold him and you easily."

"Yohoho, that's right, I'm all bones," Brooke chuckled.

"What if I fall?" she murmured to him. "I don't want to end up like…"

She didn't have to say it.

"We won't let you," I reassure her.

"Mm," Brooke agreed.

Suki didn't speak for a long moment, then finally, "Okay…"

"Robin, you should go up there," Zoro said. "Help her up like Luffy would have."

"Please," Suki nearly begged.

"All right," I said. I moved forward, reaching up and touching a bar. I realized that's how Nami got up. I swung up, getting to the opposite side of the walkway. I had to feel around because I couldn't produce an arm on places I couldn't see or know where they were exactly. But once I had a general idea, it was easy. I produced arms from the walkway, making a ladder that twisted appropriately until my extended fingers touched the bottom –or the top –of the doorway.

"There," I said. "Feel along the bottom –you should feel my arms. Climb the ladder."

"A ladder?" Suki squeaked. "It's made of your arms, isn't it?"

"No, I found rope up here," I said sarcastically.

"I think I'd prefer your arms."

"You're in luck," Brooke chuckled. "Here –come here. See –there you go."

"You're right behind me?"

"Of course," he replied.

I felt her hands grip my arms, and then she brought her foot up. Slowly, she climbed my make-shift ladder, and Brooke was right behind her –which was probably better as it twisted. She freaked out a bit, and I could feel her nails digging into my skin. But finally she was there beside me, followed by Brooke.

"Walk carefully," I told them, pointing them in the right direction. I waited until they were a fair enough distance away before calling out to Jo, "Come on up."

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

I finally found her. My gag reflex was really testing me –I really wanted to throw up. But what had I expected?

I slid my hands along her figure until I came across her neck. I checked for her pulse, all the while trying to banish the feeling of stepping on limbs and fingers, of kicking heads and legs.

Nothing.

I closed my eyes tightly, then opened them, peering down at her dark figure. I could somewhat make it out in the blackness that consumed and ate the world around us.

I felt down for her hand, then held it to my forehead. I closed my eyes once more, taking a deep breath. Then, hoping her spirit was somewhere nearby, I whispered, "I'm sorry."

* * *

><p><em><span>Luffy<span>_

"How is she?" Tsunaka called down to Nami.

Nami didn't respond.

"Nami?"

"No," she responded.

"No?" Ino asked.

"She's… no…" Nami's voice carried up to us.

"You son of a bitch!" Ino shouted angry.

"I didn't mean to," Windsworth repeated.

"You should have died instead!"

I stretched my out, grabbing her arm, "Stop."

"He –"

"I know," I told her. "But it was an accident."

"Sala –"

"We need to keep moving."

Ino shuddered and released a sob.

"Can… can I come back up now?" Nami said. Through my extended arm I felt her jerk about. Then her hand released mine and there was a retching sound. I searched for her, touching her back. She grabbed my hand, "Please."

I wrapped my arm around her waist, then pulled her back up to me. She smelled faintly of throw-up, but I pushed her hair behind her ear and placed a kiss on her cheek, rubbing my hand up and down her back.

"I'm fine," she murmured. A lie. I could tell from the way she clutched at my sleeves. But we needed to get moving, and I knew she wouldn't want to talk about it here.

That stuff would all come later, when we were all safe on the decks of our Thousand Sunny.

"Nami?" Suki approached.

"We're here," she responded. "Are you all right?"

"We're fine," Brooke said.

"That's good," Nami took a deep breath. Then, she called out, "Robin?"

"Jo's coming towards you now," came the reply.

"Are you going to be able to bring the water barrels up?" Nami asked.

"Maybe if –"

"Luffy'll come help," she told her. Nami's grip tightened on my arm, "Go. Worst comes to worse, we use the barrels as boats when we escape. They're fairly large, and should be able to hold us until Sanji and the others find us –"

"Water," Zoro called out. Soon after, there was the sound similar to a waterfall's, as the water poured out the doorway.

Nami tensed, then relaxed just as quickly. "Go, Luffy."

"Mm," I said. But just as I turned to go, something caught my eye.

"Oi," I began.

"What is it, Luffy?" Nami asked.

"What's that glowing thing?"


	19. The Source of the Glow

**A/N: **Ahha, I need to cure my habit of getting distracted... Like really :P This was supposed to be done yesterday -but nope, distracted. Then I was like -Okay, I'll get it done this morning -nope, distracted... In my defense, I was reading manga XD But it wasn't One Piece, so it's not that good of a defense...

Speaking of One Piece -AWESOME recent chapter XD I always get so excited when they update XD And now they're getting to the action XD Let's see what those straw-hats can do now, in their first huge battle after 2 years XD I'm soooooo pumped XD

I'll respond to reviews from the last chapter and my "Of Dreams, Clouds and Mikans" recent chapter tomorrow -I REALLY want to finish reading this manga...

Anyway, enjoy~

...Though, admittedly, you may think less of me after reading this chapter...

* * *

><p><strong>The Source of the Glow<strong>

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

Sure enough, there really was a glowing thing. It was on what looked to be a completely different walkway. Luffy and I stared at it for a long moment, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Whatever it was, it was moving.

"Go help Robin and Zoro first," I half-turned to Luffy, not taking my eyes of the glowing object. "We'll worry about the glowing thing in a moment."

"Mm," he said.

He hurried to the two of them, his feet making a lot of noise on the metal walkway. But the noises he made didn't stop when they should have. Then I realized how distant they were.

It was the glowing object…

I think.

"Hello?" I called out. It echoed in the empty cavity, over the quiet rush of water as it spilled into the abyss below: "_Hello?... hello?... hello?_"

The glowing figure stopped moving.

"Helloooo?" I called out again. Again, it echoed. "_Helloooo?... helloooo?... helloooo?_"

"Hi!" a voice replied. "_Hi… hi… hi…_"

"Another survivor," the others whispered.

I didn't know what to ask –I mean, there was a glowing person across this wide open space, "Are you injured? ..._ Are you injured? ... you injured? ... injured?_"

"No –we're fine," he called back. "_Fine… fine… fine.._"

"We?" I murmured, before shouting back at him, "How many people are with you? … _are with you? … with you? … you?_"

"Four … _four… four…_"

"Four," I did a quick calculation in my head. Mariko, Windsworth, Ino, Tsunaka, Jo, Obaa-san, Ojii-san, Suki and the five of us. Thirteen. That made seventeen survivors in total. That was great.

The sound of water hitting more water as it rose below us became the only thing audible for a couple of moments. It was definitely a wake-up call.

"Continue moving upward!" I called out. The echoes were now drowned out by the sound of the water. "We'll try meeting up with you!"

"Okay!" he called back.

"We have the water," Luffy said, coming back to us.

"And if we don't hurry up, it won't be the only water we have," Robin said.

"So let's go," I said. In the darkness, I seemed to have which direction was what confused. I ended up bumping into Luffy –or maybe it was Zoro? I couldn't tell, "Tsunaka?"

"Over here," she said.

I followed her voice to the stairs, then cautiously climbed to the top. I could hear Ojii-san talking to Obaa-san, comforting her in the dark.

"Is everybody okay?"

"Except for Sala," Ino said spitefully.

"It was a mistake," Windsworth said, for the millionth time.

"I doubt it," Ino sounded angry. "You haven't tried to get along with any of us! It should have been _you_ that fell and died!"

"Ino!" I said sharply. "Calm down."

"Why should I calm down if –Ack!"

"What happened?" I asked, taking a step towards her.

"Don't worry," Zoro grunted. "She's only unconscious. Jo, come here and take her."

"What did you –You know what? I don't want to know," I shook my head. I pinched the bridge of my nose for a second. "Let's just go."

As I started making my way forward, I heard Zoro mutter behind me to Robin, "Well, no one else was going to do it. She was making things more complicated than they need to be."

"You could have handled it a little more gracefully," Robin told him.

"Zoro? Graceful?" I muttered to myself, rolling my eyes. Yeah. Zoro was as graceful as a rock slide. Unless it was with his katana… Though I'd call that more fluid than graceful. It really wasn't a word I would use to describe Zoro.

"When we get through this," Tsunaka said as she followed closely behind, "I want a hot bath."

"A bath would be nice," Suki agreed. Her voice sounded strained, like she was trying to distract herself.

Ohhhh yeah. The bath on Thousand Sunny sounded amazing right about then.

"I want to eat meat," Luffy said.

"I'm sure Sanji has it waiting for us," Brooke reassured him.

"I could go for a drink," Zoro muttered. That would be nice too.

All I really wanted was to relax, turn of my mind and sleep.

"I want to see my mommy," Mariko said somewhere behind me.

"We'll see her soon," Windsworth told her.

"After Luffy and Nami help us out of here," Mariko said firmly.

Windsworth was quiet for a moment, "Yeah… after they help us get out of here."

I couldn't help but smile. It was a start.

We continued in silence for a while, and I still tested carefully to make sure the walkway didn't end suddenly. And it did once –but I caught myself, pulling my weight back and bumping into Tsunaka. I steadied her, too, before testing the area around us to see where the floor extended to. It when in two ways: one towards the bow, the other towards the stern. Towards the stern is where I headed. Not only was that to be the area we were most likely going to escape from, but it was also towards the glowing man.

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

Zoro and I kept on bumping into the old couple as they walked ahead of us.

"Sorry," Ojii-san murmured, over and over again.

"It's okay," I reassured him.

But it continued to happen. I was always stepping on the back of his shoes.

"Nami," I began.

"Mm?" she asked.

"Perhaps we could stop to rest a while?" I asked.

"Is something wrong?" Nami asked.

"We've been pushing ourselves a lot –I'm sure we could all use a rest. Just a minute or two would be fine, I'm sure."

"But the water's –"

"I know," I interrupted her. "But some of us need a rest."

She was silent for a moment, then caught on, "Mm. All right… a short rest."

"Thank you," Ojii-san told me.

"You're welcome," I replied. "Would you like a drink?"

"We're fine," he told us.

"Mariko?" I waited for a reply.

"Would you like a drink of water?"

"Yes please," she said.

"Come here," I reached out my hand in the direction of her voice, waiting until my fingers brushed against her arms. "I'm afraid we don't have any cups."

"Weren't there some fruit with hard exteriors?" Nami mentioned.

"Ah, yes," I reached into the bag and took out the fruit she had mentioned. I also took out one of the knives, cutting it down the center carefully, into bowls rather than cups. "Is anyone hungry? Tsunaka? Jo? Suki? Brooke?"

"I'm fine," Tsunaka murmured.

"And I don't have an appetite," Jo said.

"Mm," Suki and Brooke both agreed with the two.

"Obaa-san, would you like to have a bite to eat?"

"Thank you," the Ojii-san said, taking the fruit for both of them.

"Me too! Me too!" Luffy said.

"All right," I chuckled, cutting another in half and handing both halves to him. I took out a third and cut it again, "Zoro?"

"I'm –"

"Eat," I said firmly. He lost so much blood before –he needed to eat.

"Okay," he answered submissively.

"Here," Luffy said, handing me back the skin of the hard fruit.

"Thank you," I said, finding the cork in the side of the barrel and taking it out. A bit of water splashed onto my hand as I aligned the 'cup'. "Windsworth, would you like a drink?"

"Please." It wasn't surprising that he had become slightly meek after what had happened moments ago.

"Nami, Tsunaka, Jo, Suki –you should all have a drink too," I said. "Especially if you won't eat. Brooke, I'm sad to say we don't have any milk."

"It's fine, Robin," he reassured me.

While they all refused at first, I coaxed them into drinking the water, from the fruit skins that had been handed back to me. I made sure the cork was tightly in its hole as Nami got us moving again.

"Brooke, Luffy, Robin, make sure you don't fall off the walkway. If you land in that water, when it's this dark the chances of finding you won't be all that great," Nami told us.

"If we don't speed it up, they won't have to fall to be in the water," Zoro murmured.

"We're going at a find rate. Ojii-san, how are you two doing?" I asked.

"We're holding up just fine," he replied. "We're sorry –we're slowing you down, aren't we?"

"It's fine," I said. "We're still going at a good rate."

"Thank you," he said after a moment.

"For?"

"Just… thank you… for bringing us along this far."

All of us walked in silence for a couple of moments.

"There's the glowing guy!" Luffy exclaimed suddenly. "Oi!"

Against the glow, I could see Luffy waving his arms excitedly. Below, the glow reflected off the water below –and it was higher than any of us had probably had expected. Bodies floated in the rising water. If Nami noticed, she didn't show it.

"More survivors!" Tsunaka said happily. "This is great, isn't it, Jo?"

"Mm," he agreed.

"Yohoho! What a sight to see!" Brooke chuckled.

"Except you have no eyes to see with," Suki murmured. She was gripping his arm tightly.

"It's great, knowing that there're more people," the glowing man said as they drew near.

"A devil's fruit?" I asked.

"The Guro-guro fruit," he said. "I'm afraid all it let's me do is glow."

"No, right now –you're a miracle," Suki said. "I can finally see where I'm walking."

"Except you don't have eyes to see –oh, wait, yes, you do," Brooke laughed.

"Skin joke," Suki grinned.

"Can I throw them off the walkway?" Zoro murmured. I nudged him gently.

"There's so many of you," one of the guys from the glowing group said. "How many?"

"Thirteen," Nami said.

"I only count eleven," another person said.

"Eleven?" Nami turned and looked us over. She raised her hand, pointing to us as she counted. Then she frowned, and counted again. And again. I found myself doing the same.

"Who –"

"Ojii-san!" I said suddenly, glancing around. "Obaa-san!"

"OJII-SAN! OBAA-SAN!" Luffy called into the darkness.

"Can you intensify your glow or something?" Nami asked.

"Mm," the glowing man said. And indeed, his glow intensified.

All of us were leaning over the edge, searching for them amongst the lifeless corpses that floated in the black water. But there were so many bodies, and to pick out theirs alone was impossible.

"We need to get going," Nami said after a couple of minutes.

"But the old couple –" Tsunaka began.

"I know!" Nami's fist was clenched. It was hard on her, to abandon them without knowing what exactly happened. "But it's impossible to find them if they don't want to be found. But now we have four people that will only sink in that water down there. We _need_ to keep going upwards. We need to get out of here."

It was silent for a moment before there was a murmur of agreement. Nami and the glowing man –Kouki –lead the way. I glanced out once more towards the dark waters below, and for a second I saw the old man's face.

I opened my mouth to say something, but I blinked and it disappeared.

"_Just… thank you… for bringing us along this far._"


	20. Reunion

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay! Family excursions and shitty internet is the reason this time around, but whatever! What matters is that this chapter is up and ready for your viewing!

And boy! Is it an intense one or what? XD

Well, enjoy~!

* * *

><p><strong>Reunion<strong>

* * *

><p><em><span>Suki<span>_

Inhale.

Exhale.

I hated this.

"Are you okay?" Brooke asked.

"I'm fine," I told him, brushing my hair back over my shoulder. A shudder rolled through me, and I closed my eyes for a moment –though not any longer, because we _were_ on a walkway.

There were bodies _everywhere_. And they were floating. It was like the sea of the dead. I'd take the darkness over this any day, but I knew we needed the light to get out of here. Had we not, I may just have pushed Kouki off the walkway.

I didn't want to see.

Inhale.

Exhale.

"We're almost out of here," Brooke reassured me.

"You don't know that," I murmured.

The water poured in from four different doors, as far as I knew. Even though we kept on climbing, I was worried that the water would catch up to us.

Inhale.

Exhale.

"We'll get out of here," he promised.

I didn't reply. I couldn't.

I wanted to believe him so badly, but I wondered if I could with the water rising so quickly. With not knowing how we were going to get through the bottom of the ship.

Inhale.

Exhale.

I reached between us, taking his boney fingers in mine.

I _would_ believe him.

Because I trusted him.

* * *

><p><em><span>Brooke<span>_

I could feel her unrest as I tightened my grip on my violin case. She took my hand in hers, shying further away from the edge of the walkway and closer to me.

In front of us, Windsworth carried Mariko. Her eyes were closed, her arms around his neck. His hatred towards us pirates had died down considerably, and with good reason, too. Without us here, _he_ probably would have been pushed off the walkway.

Nami, Luffy and Kouki had paused up ahead. There appeared to be two directions to go, but Kouki wanted to go one way while Nami wanted to go the other way. The way that Kouki wanted to go, continued going straight. The way Nami wanted to go went between what appeared to be the engines that had kept this ship functioning.

"Brooke," Robin spoke from behind me.

"Mm," I turned to face her and Zoro, who was looking steadily worse. But I didn't mention a word of it –I was sure he knew, and I knew he had his pride. Still, I worried.

"Watch over things here while I go and talk with Nami," she said. She gestured to the barrels of water, but I knew she meant Zoro.

"Mm," I nodded, taking the bag of fruit from her as well.

She slipped past us on the walkway, gently excusing herself to get to the front.

"Maybe we should have closed the doors behind us when we entered this area," Suki murmured.

She looked up at the floors above us rather than down. There hung more engines; they varied in size, and I wondered if they all powered different things. In some places that we had passed, the engine had crashed through the walkway, leaving it impassible until Robin and Luffy helped everyone cross.

"We'll be fine," Zoro yawned. Sweat rolled down his temple. It _was_ hot here, and the heat most likely came from the machinery.

"Are you okay?" Suki asked him.

"Fine," he grumbled.

Suki glanced at me, and I gave the smallest of shrugs, "He's always been this way –this is nothing new to hear."

"Except you don't have ears," she cracked a faint smile. She inhaled deeply as she let out a forced laugh.

"Skull joke."

Zoro just rolled his eyes.

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

"If we go this way, the likelihood that the walkways will be supported is greater," I told Kouki.

"We don't know if there are stairs between the engines," was his defense.

I let out a sigh, crossing my arms. I didn't want to split up, but which was safer? Knowing that the floor beneath us was stable, or knowing that there was a way up?

For some reason, I preferred the idea of walls being around us. With all the pipes and whatever else the engines were made of, they could certainly climb all the way up to the hull. But that would take more time than finding a staircase, and then there were the barrels, as well as Suki who seemed to be developing a fear of heights.

"What do you think, Robin?" I asked, turning to her as she appeared. "Which way should we go?"

"For now, I think we should continue ahead. Once we find a good stretch, maybe I can create a ladder and we can skip ahead a couple of levels," she said, glancing up.

"Fine," I gave in, nodding. I'd have to trust that if the walkway gave out, we'd all be quick enough to react and save everyone.

Luffy hummed beside me as we decided. Robin glanced back towards Brooke, Suki and Zoro, but stayed up there with us for a while. She got to learn more about the three people that had accompanied Kouki. Two were male, one female. Yoshiro, Mokito, and Rika. They were nice, though they seemed stressed out –which was natural in this kind of situation. Yoshiro was another worker here; Mokito and Rika were engaged, though they were an odd couple to look at, when Rika towered over him.

"What's that?" Luffy asked, stretching his arm out, past Kouki and into the water. As I turned my head to look at what he was referring to, there was a loud gunshot. The skin of his arm stretched, brushing against Kouki's chest, before snapping back into place and sending the bullet flying. Without meaning to, Luffy had saved his life.

Tsunaka screamed, as did Rika; Ino stirred, which was probably for the better, because Jo was looking exhausted.

"Who's there?" I called out.

Even with Kouki's glow, I couldn't see anyone. But we were a perfect target in the light.

Another gunshot answered me, and Luffy's body stretched to follow the path of the bullet.

"There," Robin pointed into the darkness. I followed her finger to a group of ten above us.

I questioned, "Pirates?"

"I suppose on a ship this grand, we can't be the only other stowaways," Robin said.

"I could hardly consider us stowaways," I told her. "We had tickets."

She just chuckled. I cracked a small smile.

"Luffy," I brushed my fingers against his back, and he nodded, stretching his arm out and grabbing the railing just above us, ready to swing out to the group.

"Zoro," Robin called out.

"They're the same people as last time," he grunted, moving to the front and leaving Brooke and Suki there at the back. Suki looked pale as she realized the same thing.

"Want some revenge?" she asked, bringing out another two knives.

"With pleasure," he gave a demonic grin. He took the knives, tucking one between his teeth as he prepared himself to jump. He could have made it, but Robin must have been looking out for him, because her arms sprouted from the bottom of the walkway, giving him a rope of hands and helping him swing across.

"Let's go," I said, pushing Kouki forward.

"Uh, now would be the time to head for the engines," he said, resisting.

"Just _move_," I told him. "Luffy won't let us get hit."

There was a gunshot, and it zinged right past us.

Kouki looked at me.

"Well, it didn't hit us," I said, then continued to push him on.

* * *

><p><em><span>Suki<span>_

One of the water barrels got shot, the angle taking out a big chunk of the barrel and almost making it roll off of Robin's hands and off of the walkway. Her hands stabled it once more, and she hurried back to take up the rear, while Nami and Kouki lead the way, away from the gun fire.

We weren't running, but we were walking quickly. Robin made sure that there wasn't water wasted excessively, keeping the hole at the top as we hurried on.

There was a scream from where the fight was taking place, and I was positive that it wasn't a male scream. Actually, the scream itself sounded quite familiar, and a horror washed over me.

In the rush to get to the bottom of the ship, I'd completely forgotten about my friend. I felt horrible –I had practically left her behind to die, and had it not been for that scream, I probably would have forgotten all about her without a second thought. But it was too late to go down and rescue her.

That scream, though –

I turned to the fighting, and caught a glance of bright red hair that was unmistakably hers.

"U-Uri!" I stuttered out, skidding to a halt.

"Suki?" Brooke looked at me.

"Brooke –I think that girl is my friend that I told you about," I said, looking at him with hopeful eyes.

"I got it," Nami said, finding her way back, letting Kouki lead them on. "Keep going."

She hurried back, past us, past Robin and the water barrels, hurrying towards the fight.

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

"Oi! Luffy!" I called out as I stood on the walkway. I was in darkness again as the group moved further away. "Make sure you don't harm the girl! If you can, pass her to me!"

"Mm!" he called back out in reply. He picked her up by the scruff of her shirt, stretching his arm out to put her beside me on the walkway. She screamed during the process, and stumbled forward when he released her. I steadied her.

"Oi!" One of the men sounded angry.

"Get away –" she started pushing me away.

"Watch out," I said, pulling her forward as she almost fell off the walkway. "We're not trying to hurt you –Suki's with us. She's been worried about you."

"S-Suki?" she asked, looking up at me.

"Mm," I pointed down the path towards the glowing group. "She's there –"

"Uri!" Suki ran towards us, despite her fear of falling off the walkway. I could hear her voice getting tight with tears.

"Suki," the girl says.

"It's really you," Suki threw herself at her friend.

"Go," I told both of them as they embraced in their reunion. "Back to the group."

"What about you?" Suki asked.

"I'll wait for Luffy and Zoro," I said, looking back up where most of the men were unconscious already. I could only see their silhouettes in the distancing light, "We'll be along shortly."

I couldn't just leave them. After all, they both had a _terrible_ sense of direction.

* * *

><p><em><span>Luffy<span>_

"Uri!" One guy shouted as I dropped her off with Nami. He looked at me angrily –"Oi!"

He hit me, and I slid back on the walkway, nearly falling off as the path turned. He had Haki, I realized.

"Where are you taking her?" he ran at me. I dodged with ease, catching him as he practically flew off the walkway. I placed him back on the walkway.

"I only gave her to Nami," I said. "She's fine."

He attacked me again, but I held my ground, using a little Haki of my own.

"Give her back," he grunted, jumping back and trying a new attack.

I dodged again, but I didn't feel like attacking this guy. While he was what appeared to be the leader of the group, he himself hadn't started attacking until I had taken the girl to safety. I leapt up onto another walkway, grabbing the upside-down railing and hanging there by my knees. He glared up at me.

"If we're all going to die on this ship, I want her by my side," he said firmly.

"Then it's impossible," I told him as Zoro approached.

"Why?" he nearly growled.

"Because we're not going to die," I grinned. "Mm, Zoro?"

"Mm," he agreed, tossing something into the darkness. I assumed it was the knives. Maybe they'd broken again.

"What do you mean?" the man looked at us cautiously.

I just laughed: "We're getting out of here. Alive."


	21. Reaching the Hull

**A/N:** Sooooooo sorrrrrrry it took so long. I think this is it, you guys... second last chapter... Ahhhh~ such an incredibly sad thing, as we come to a close with yet another fanfiction story...

I'm glad so many of you have enjoyed, and I don't know -maybe I'll do another story where I place the Straw-hat Pirates in another movie... We'll see ;)

I appreciate all the reviews, favourites and views in general that this story has gotten. You guys are wonderful. Incredible. Totally magnificent and amazing XD

As for the reviews I haven't replied to -I'm so soooorrrry, it's been busy. I'm getting my license in a week, so I've been driving around a lot, and over the weekend, I built a fence! And then I was watching this fantastic drama... and it all just adds up... There's not enough hours in a day...

Well, with all that said, it's about time to let you read :)

I so hope you enjoy this, and I'll reply to everything tomorrow~

* * *

><p><strong>Reaching the Hull<strong>

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

All I could hear across the darkness was the sound of footsteps, rushing back and forth, up and down. How they managed to find their way on the platforms, without falling off in the darkness, was beyond me.

Then there were just the murmurs of voices under the rush of water, the fighting done –or so I hoped. I didn't really want to linger in one place for two long.

"Oi! Nami," Luffy called out.

"Here," I shouted back.

His arm touched my arm, then slid down my body to the platform below, looking for a sturdy place to hold.

I heard the creak of the walkway too late, and as Luffy came towards me, I felt the walkway shift slightly. And in the next moment, we were all in the water, the walkway having given out from underneath us.

The water was ice-cold, black and deep. Around me, bodies bobbed up and down. I fought to the surface, breaking through looking around. "Luffy! LUUUUFFFY!"

"Oi, Nami, what happened?" Zoro shouted over the water.

"The walkway broke!" I said, pushing through the bodies in search for him. "I think Luffy fell in."

There was a splash and I had no doubt that Zoro dived into the cold, black water. I took a deep breath, and then followed his lead. Luffy was a hammer –he'd go down, not float. Now that I thought of it, calling out for him had been useless. It was one of those moments when between the darkness and the shock of the water, I had forgotten such a major detail.

I pushed myself lower and lower, but looking for Luffy in all that black water was like looking for a specific sea monster in all of the Grand Line. Impossible.

Still, even knowing that, I searched. I never once bumped into Zoro. Finally I swam back up to get some air. Puffing deeply, I saw that everyone had returned –the Kouki was back. In front of them were black silhouettes –men I didn't recognize, but all were soaking wet.

Robin extended her many arms towards me. I pushed her hand away –"I need to find Luffy."

"He's here," She said, gesturing to the group of men. "Yoku had been with him when Luffy hit the water –he pulled him up."

I let Robin drag me back onto the walkway –though I had to wonder if I trusted it with all the people standing on it in practically one area –and I dropped down to my knees beside Luffy.

I brushed wet strands of hair out of his face, then touched his neck, feeling for his heartbeat. I let out a long breath as relief swept over me. I rested my forehead against his cheek hugging his neck.

Looking up at the newly acquired males –the pirates, I realized –I murmured my thanks. Then I glanced at Robin, and then around the rest of the group.

To Robin I said, "Zoro jumped in too."

She nodded, as if she already knew that he would –which I guess is naturally to be expected from him. Zoro had always been that way –willing to risk his life for his nakama. Despite my constant nagging –and yelling, shouting, getting angry and beating him –I really did respect Zoro. Luffy couldn't have found a better first mate.

There was the sound as someone broke through the water's surface, and Robin was quick to grab Zoro and pull him out. He protested at first, until his eye fell upon Luffy's figure. He let out a sigh, his shoulders relaxing as Robin placed her hand on his shoulder and leaned into him for a moment.

"We should get going," I said to the group, shaking Luffy lightly to wake him up.

He opened his eyes, coughing up more water. He smiled at me, "Oh, hi, Nami."

I rolled my eyes, standing up and pulling him to his feet –his arm only stretched, and he remained there on the ground.

"Luffy, let's go," I said firmly, nudging him lightly with my foot. I looked to the group, "Go on –get going. We don't have a lot of time left. If the water is rising this quickly, maybe there's a hole somewhere in here that's letting air in. We need to find it."

"You guys really believe that we can get out of here?" one of the guys asked.

"Of course," Robin, Zoro, Brooke, Luffy and I all replied together. We exchanged glances before smiling.

"Are you okay Luffy?" Suki asked him.

"I'm fine," he grinned.

"Yohoho, when I heard Nami shouting, I was frightened half to death," Brooke laughed.

"Except you don't have ears, and you're already dead," Suki looked a lot more sure of herself. Maybe it was Uri… Maybe it was Brooke. She seemed to be taking everything in stride, gaining hope along the way.

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed. "You should _really_ join our crew, Suki."

She tightened Brooke's jacket around her –"Maybe I will."

"Are you serious?" Uri asked.

"I –I don't know," Suki admitted. "But I think I am."

"Yohoho," Brooke laughed.

"Can I join?" Loki asked.

"Maybe in a few years," Luffy told him, his smile never fading.

"Are we going or not?" Windsworth asked, adjusting Mariko in his arms.

"We're going," I reassured him. "Kouki, lead the way."

"Aye-Aye, Captain," he joked.

"Since when were you the captain?" Luffy asked, hanging on my arm as our group dispersed slowly.

"I'm not the captain," I told him.

"Kouki just called you the captain," Luffy pointed out.

"It was a joke," I explained.

"So you're not that captain?" he asked.

"No.'

"So who's the captain?"

"Well," I reached between us, linking my fingers through his, "You're my captain."

He smiled as he looked at me. He started leaning forward, closer, and closer still until –

"And my captain!" Brooke shoved his head between us.

"And mine," Robin chipped in, as Zoro pulled Brooke back and out of the way. He didn't add to it though, but nodded at Luffy as if it were enough. And I suppose it was. He looked pained, and he didn't look any better after having been in the water, but as long as we made it out of here –and so long as the Thousand Sunny was lingering by somewhere near by this time –then we'd have nothing to worry about. Chopper would patch him up just fine –I was sure of it.

"Luffy and I are going to move back up to the front," I told them, pulling Luffy forward. Everyone moved to one side of the platform as we passed, still dripping wet.

I glanced down only once to check the level of the water. Otherwise, I didn't want to know –I figured the less I thought about it, the slower it would seem to rise. Kind of like time…

Except with time, the less you thought about it, the faster it went by…

Huh…

I cast another glance down as we caught up with Kouki and his small group. He nodded at me, and then kept moving forward. I fell in step beside him, Luffy following closely behind.

"There's stairs," Tsunaka called out suddenly, grabbing Kouki's shoulder and pointing to the side. Up ahead I mapped out the path we needed to take. Luckily it didn't take much to get there, because the water really was rising fast. Luckily, the stairs seemed to stretch far upwards.

At the top of the stairs, I realized that we were at the top –or the bottom, of the ship. The stairs just ended at the ceiling, with nowhere else to go –a complication that I hadn't even considered. With an upside down ship, there was no 'floor' where we'd need it the most.

"What's going on?" Someone asked behind and below us.

"We can't go any further," I replied.

"Shit!" Kouki banged his fist against the floor.

There was a loud murmur that rippled through the group.

"But Nami –" Luffy began.

"How are we supposed to get out now?"

"Are there any other stairs anywhere?"

"It'd probably end the same –"

"There's no doubt –it _would_ end the same –"

"Oi, Nami," Luffy tugged at my shirt.

"Everybody calm down," I called out, but it was in vain.

"Nami –"

"Don't push!" Someone shouted.

"Stop it!"

It was getting messy, really fast.

Finally there was an indescribable sound that silenced us all. I turned to Luffy who had punched a hole in the flat surface above us. The metal peeled inwards, deeper towards the hull. Carefully, Luffy extracted his hand. His knuckles were hardly damaged –he must have been using Haki.

"Luffy –" I began, but this time he interrupted me.

"I was trying to tell you –this floor isn't made out of Seastone. There had to be another surface beyond this one," Luffy said, grabbing either side of the hole and pushing back the metal scraps, widening the size of it, until it could squeeze one of those water barrels through.

"You're a genius," I said, kissing Luffy on the cheek before climbing through the hole. It was pitch black, but when Kouki came in, the walls were illuminated. The ceiling curved in the shape of the hull, making me to believe that these tankers really were for air. Had it not been attacked by a rogue tsunami, I'm sure these tankers would have been great had we crashed into anything. They were thin, walls separating one second from the next so that if one flooded, it wouldn't necessarily bring the ship down.

Kouki helped Jo bring Ino up, laying her off to the side while the others climbed up. Everyone crawled in, regrouping and spreading out in the small space while we waited for everyone else. I looked around.

"What now?" Yoku asked, gesturing around the room. "There's nowhere to go from here. Where's that hole that you said we could get through."

"Below us, obviously," Loki snapped at the man that was double his age and twice his height.

"Just… give me a moment to think," I said, nudging my way to one of the walls. They were made from the same metal as the floor below us, but I was positive that right behind the metal was the hull.

"If we can get past the hull, our problem's solved," Robin said, coming up beside me as I placed my hand on the wall.

"I know," I murmured. "It's not a matter of what to do, it's how to do it –Luffy, close the hole you created if everyone's inside.

"That's going cut down our oxygen supply," Windsworth said. "We have twenty or so people now –is that such a great idea?"

"Then… Open another hole into the tanker beside us," I waved my hand dismissively –I just didn't want the water to rise into our confined space.

Luffy did as I asked, and Kouki checked the other space for holes. When it was fine, he joined us back in the room, where I continued to think of a way to do things.

Luffy came and sat beside where I stood. I still faced the wall, but I'd taken to leaning my forehead against it.

"I love you," Luffy said to me.

"I love you too," I replied instantly.

"You'll think of something," he encouraged.

"Thanks," I said, sighing and turning around. I slid down the wall to sit beside him, closing my eyes and trying to think of an idea. Now that I wasn't all _go, go, go_, I found myself exhausted, unable to think properly. Maybe the lack of oxygen was already getting to me.

"Don't fall asleep," Yoku said from across the room. "We need to get out of here."

"Yoku, you were the one going on about how we were all going to die anyway," one of the men said.

"Can you just shut up," Zoro nearly growled at him. They'd been the ones to shoot at Suki, Zoro and Brooke, right? I understood the resentment. But they were survivors too…

The entire room went silent. You would almost think that Zoro had the King's disposition, rather than Luffy, with the way he had control over people.

I really was almost falling asleep.

"Brooke, play us a song," Robin encouraged. "Something upbeat."

"Yohoho –you've twisted my arm!"

"Careful, though –he falls apart quite easily," Suki murmured.

Luffy laughed, "Shishishi.'

There were sounds as Brooke opened his violin. Without the sound of rushing water, it was oddly quiet.

"Who's hungry?" Robin asked.

"We are," came a chorus.

"Sanji should be here soon," I murmured, opening my eyes and looking at the arched ceiling.

"Meat," Luffy started drooling.

"Mm," I agreed. I wasn't sure what I was looking forward to more –a decent meal, a good night's sleep, or a nice, hot bath. At this point –as I was still dripping wet –I think the bath. Not only had the water been cold, it had been filled with dead corpses…

Yeah, I was definitely looking forward to that bath…

I shivered, and Luffy drew me closer to him, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. I picked up his hand and shifted my fingers between his; I looked at our hands for a second, and then looked up at the hull.

Was it possible to break through it?

Could we do it?

"Zoro?" I asked, not even bothering to look towards him.

"Mm," he grunted.

"Can you try cutting through it? Do you think it's possible?"

"Maybe not with these knives," Zoro muttered.

"I thought you said it wasn't the blade that mattered, but the wielder," Brooke said.

"Yeah, yeah," Zoro stood up, stretching. "How many knives do we have left, Robin?"

"Three," she said as she took them out.

"Perfect," he said, taking them from her.

"Three blades are perfect?" Rika asked.

"You don't know who he is, do you?" Loki grinned.

"Come away from the wall," Robin said to Jo, Tsunaka and Ino, who was slowly becoming more conscious. Windsworth and Mariko also moved away.

"Who is –?" she began, but her sentence tampered off as Zoro placed one of the blades in his mouth, shifted his position to sturdy himself.

"Roronoa –"

"Mm," Loki's smile only widened. He was like a kid seeing his favourite superhero in action.

But whether the onlookers respected Zoro or feared him, I think it was safe to say that in that moment we all held our breath.

And we prayed for the best.


	22. Final Chapter

**A/N:** Officially the longest chapter I've ever written XD

Sorry it took so long. I had it half written for a few days, and then I fell into a slump where I didn't feel like writing anything at all. Obviously I overcame it, and voila! here I am.

I'm quite proud of this story, and I think I'm satisfied with the ending :P And I just hope you guys are too.

Enjoy~

* * *

><p><strong>Final chapter<strong>

* * *

><p><em><span>Suki<span>_

"Those guys shot at us," I pointed at the group Uri had arrived with.

"Did they?" Uri asked, looking at the group she'd been travelling with, "But not Yoku, right?"

"I don't remember seeing him around," I admitted. She wasn't as concerned as she should have been. The men she had been travelling with could have killed her at any given time. They had almost killed me –and they'd shot Zoro.

"Yoku wanders away from them often, I think two of them are crew members, and the other two he doesn't know at all. He's nothing like them though" she said, bringing her knees up to her chest as Zoro stood up. He stretched, and then walked over to Robin. "He didn't think we were going to make it out of here alive, and just let the guys do whatever in their last moments."

I was silent, my eyes following Zoro, then drifted to Brooke, who stopped playing the music and walked over to Robin and Zoro.

"He saved me, Suki," she gripped my hand as we watched them. "I had almost been crushed by a falling beam, but he saved me –you know, usually I count on you for those kinds of things, since I'm so accident prone. He's… he's incredible."

"You like him," I said suddenly, glancing away from Zoro to look at my best friend.

"And you like Brooke," she countered, stealing a look at the skeleton.

Brooke stood beside Robin. He spoke to Zoro, his voice distantly carrying across the room. "_I thought you said it wasn't the blade that mattered, but the wielder._"

"So?" I fingered the sleeve of his jacket. It felt like she was accusing me. As if it were something to be ashamed of.

"He's a skeleton," she said.

"He's the Soul King. And he's a gentleman."

"He's still a skeleton," Uri muttered. "It's not going to be a real romance. Skin and bone just don't work together."

I stood up, looking down at her, "I'll make it work."

"Come away from the wall," Robin said, going over to help Ino, Tsunaka and Jo move away. Windsworth also led Mariko away.

"Are you okay?" Brooke asked as I neared. I slid my arm through his, not looking at Uri. She wouldn't understand. "Did you have a fight with Uri-san?"

"Yeah," I admitted.

"And you are okay?"

I smiled up at Brooke, "Mm. We'll sort through it later."

I leaned into him, turning my gaze to Zoro.

"I just want to get out of here."

* * *

><p><em><span>Zoro<span>_

I closed my eyes, breathing deeply. The wound throbbed, but that wasn't important. I concentrated on the breathing that lay within the Seastone. I could feel it. I exhaled. Yes. It was definitely there, behind the breathing of the inner metal layer.

And it wasn't only their breaths I heard. Everyone in the room. The pirates that had shot at Brooke, the girl and I –that obnoxious Wind-whatever guy… If I so wanted to, with a single swipe of these blade –these pathetic knives –I could kill them all.

But I wouldn't.

Another inhale. I gripped the blades tighter. I still wished I had _my_ katana, but I had no choice in the matter.

Just as I was about to make the cut, a hand was placed on my lower arm. I opened my eye to see Nami.

"What?" I asked, lowering my swords a fraction of an inch.

She didn't say anything, just glanced around, as if thinking. She looked like shit. Tired, exhausted even. Everyone did. It'd been a long day and we all just wanted to get out of here.

"What?" I repeated.

She smiled slightly, turning to me.

"Can I just make _one_ tiny suggestion?"

* * *

><p><em><span>Sanji<span>_

Dawn was breaking~

The sky was a similar colour to Nami's hair, that _lovely_ shade of orange. Ahh~ I missed her.

I looked at the vivre card. We were directly on course, and since the card was still whole it meant that she was still alive. I itched to see her, and Robin-chwan, too, of course. How lovely it will be to see them after being deprived of their beauty for so many painfully long hours; sixteen hours, twenty seven minutes and thirty-three purely horrible seconds, to be exact.

"Nami-swa~an, Robin-chwa~an, don't worry, we're almost there~ FRANKY! FULL SPEED AHEAD!"

"We _are_ going at full speed," Franky muttered.

"Well –"

"What's that there?" Usopp asked, leaning over the railing and pointing ahead.

"Is it Nami-swa~an?" I pranced over the where he stood, squinting in the distance.

"It looks like a hull," Franky said, also coming up beside us. I glanced back to see Chopper at the helm. "I think it's them! Oi! I _really_ think it's them!"

"NAMI-SWA~AN! ROBIN-CHWA~AN! WE'RE HERE TO SAVE YOU~U!" I leaned over the railing, waving my arms frantically though they weren't able to see.

Finally, I couldn't wait any longer to see them. I leapt over the side of the ship, taking off full speed to get to the hull that floated there.

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

"What do you mean?" Zoro asked.

"Instead of slashing it to pieces, I want you to cut it across the entire length of the ship so that you can kick the hull off."

"Straight across?"

"Yeah, so that we have a little ship of our own," I said. "I mean, we don't know how long it'll be until Sanji and the others arrive. I'm thinking of our nakama when I say that none of us can swim forever. And none of us can swim forever while trying to keep the living hammers afloat."

"I can," he replied, crossing his arms.

"I'm sorry, but we're not all crazy demons like you," I rolled my eyes. "Do you think you can do it?"

"Mm," Zoro nodded.

I shivered, looking up at the ceiling.

"Something wrong, Nami?" Brooke asked.

"I don't think so," I replied, looking down. I nodded at Zoro, "I guess I'll leave it up to –"

There was a loud bang above us, and all of our gazes shot up towards the hull. A huge dent that hadn't been there before was suddenly prominent. The very tip of the dent looked exactly like –

"A shoe print?" Kouki asked.

"Sanji," I felt relief wash over me. "You guys, it's Sanji! Our Thousand Sunny is here!"

"Shishishi!" Luffy leapt to his feet. "OI~! SANJI~!"

"Cut the dent," I told Zoro. "Hurry."

There was a sudden buzz of energy. We'd get out of here alive. There were no ifs, ands or buts about it. We were saved. Now we only had to wait on Zoro.

He, too, seemed to be more focused that before, as he readied himself to make the attack. He leapt into the air, brandishing the wimpy blades and swiped at the dent. Zoro landed, a satisfied smirk on his face. At first, nothing happened, but then the dent and the blades shattered simultaneously, and light –real light –flooded the room.

A figure blocked the light, then suddenly dropped into the cavity with us. His blond hair shone in the light. I had never been gladder to see Sanji.

"Nami-swa~an! Robin-chwa~an! I'm here to rescue you~!" He said, turning to us and opening his arms. Both Robin and I didn't move an inch.

"So that's what fresh air feels like," Suki sighed.

"Can we get out of here now?" Someone asked.

"Robin, Luffy," I began, but they were one step ahead of me. Luffy stretched his arms, and Robin pulled herself up, until they were both through the hole in the roof.

"OI~! FRANKY!" Luffy waved his arms vigorously. "CHOPPER! USOPP!"

"LUFFY~!" I could hear them all crying out. "ROBIN!"

Robin gave a small wave as she made a couple of ladders. Slowly everyone began climbing. Zoro, Brooke, Suki and I remained at the bottom until everyone had gotten up. We still took the fruit, but there was no point in bringing the water when the Thousand Sunny had a filtering system.

Luffy reached down, pulling me up. He hugged me tightly, as if he hadn't seen me in ages despite being stuck with me for the past sixteen hours. I let him though, taking a deep breath, ignoring the smell of sea water that came off his still wet clothes.

The Thousand Sunny stopped beside us, and Franky opened the channel to let us in. Again, I waited for everyone else to go on ahead to make sure everyone was accounted for. Twenty-two people. We had saved seventeen people.

As Zoro and Robin stepped off the hull, the last save for Luffy and me, Luffy wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me up to the lawn deck. His stomach rumbled loudly, but Sanji was busy fussing over the girls below. Still, Luffy rushed off into the kitchen, pulling me along. As we burst through the door, I saw a feast already set out and waiting for us. With a grin, Luffy immediately started devouring everything.

"Oi!" Sanji entered the room, "Save some for the ladies!"

"I'm not hungry," was the murmur that went down.

Luffy shrugged, continuing to eat. I glanced out the window, just in time to see Chopper pulling Zoro along. Shortly after, Robin entered the kitchen, looking content. I think we were all happy –more or less –just to be off the capsizing cruise ship.

"I just want to take a bath and go to sleep," I said, stretching. "I was the last one to wash my clothes right? So they should still be up there?"

"Mm," Sanji said, looking up at me.

"A bath?" The girls perked up.

I smiled, "Come on. I'll show you."

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

I watched all the girls file up the ladder, including Mariko, while the guys came in and immediately rushed to the table covered in food. Sanji went back to work in the kitchen.

"So why were you guys on the ship?" I asked, taking a seat on the bench, since the table was full.

"Yoshiro and I were working on the ship," Kouki said. "I was on my break, and had been heading up to one of the bars when the wave hit."

The group that Yoku and Uri came with was composed completely of Yoku's pirate crew. The timid man Zoro had told me about that had led them to the group that shot them in the first place was no where to be seen.

"Since the ship was filled with the rich and the greedy, we were going to ransack the ship and meet up with our ship on the next island," one of the pirates said.

Nami came back down the ladder. She was dressed in something completely different, and I wasn't quite sure if she had actually taken a bath or not. Nami could spend hours in there, so seeing her out after no more than ten minutes was a surprise. Her skin was red, as if she had been scrubbing it for hours. She looked mildly content, so I didn't say anything.

"Nami-swan, is everything all right?" Sanji asked, leaning out of the kitchen to see her.

"Fine," she said, stretching.

"Was there something wrong with the bath?" Usopp asked.

"No, it's working fine," she said as she came over and sat beside me.

"Oh, Nami, here," Sanji came over, handing her a piece of paper. It was blank on both sides.

"What is it?" she asked.

"OI!" Luffy exclaimed suddenly. "That was in my hat!"

"What is it?" Nami asked again, turning it over again. In messy writing, her name was scrawled at the bottom.

"It's a vivre card," Sanji said.

"I never had one made though," Nami said.

"Well, it led us straight to you," Usopp said.

"I had it made," Luffy snatched the paper away.

"Don't you need nail clippings to make one?" I asked.

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed.

Nami opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. She shook her head, "I don't want to know."

"My hat!" Luffy exclaimed again suddenly, "Nami, let's go get my hat!"

"I'm tired, Luffy," she said.

"I need to get Zoro's katana," I told Luffy. "I'll go with you."

"Mm," Luffy grinned.

"Then I'm going to go take a nap," Nami stood up.

We left, and were halfway across the deck before someone suddenly shouted something inside the kitchen. Usopp burst out, "Oi! Nami! Wouldn't you rather eat first, before you take a nap?"

"I'm not hungry," she said, turning around and heading for the stairs once more.

In an instant, Usopp was behind her, grabbing her arm, "I didn't spend any of the money you gave me, Nami."

"That's nice, Usopp, but it was yours to spend," she yawned, shaking him off and starting up the stairs to our bedroom.

Luffy and I continued on, heading for the locker that kept his hat and Zoro's swords.

As I put the code into the locker, Nami screamed. Luffy bounced impatiently from one foot to another, just wanting his hat. As I opened the locker, both of us froze. His hat wasn't there. I grabbed Zoro's three katana as Luffy took back off towards the deck.

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

Usopp had been trying to keep me from going into my bedroom, and now I knew why. The moment I had opened the door, something had coming flying at me. It hit me in the chest, and while it hadn't been hard, the surprise attack brought me down.

It took me a moment to recognize Luffy's hat.

"Usopp," I began sweetly. He tried to sneak away, but I grabbed his pant leg. "Why is Luffy's hat out of the locker?"

"B-b-because," he stuttered, trying to think of a reason. "_Because_ Franky had been temporarily possessed, causing him to unlock the locker, but as soon as the locker had opened, the demon had possessed the hat instead, and we had chased it around until Sanji kicked it into your room where we had trapped it!"

"Liar," I said, standing up.

I brushed the hat off as Luffy jumped up onto the railing. As I handed it to him, something fell out of it. Luffy caught it before it hit the ground. He opened his hand to reveal a small chipmunk.

"Stub-tail!" I exclaimed, taking the chipmunk from Luffy. "What are you doing here?"

"Shishishi, he must have snuck aboard!" Luffy grinned, putting his hat on his head. "Ah~ that's better."

"Luffy," I began.

"What? He wanted to come along," Luffy said, taking Stub-tail from me and holding it beside his face. Both pairs of beady eyes stared at me.

"He's cute," Usopp said.

"Fine," I threw up my hands in defeat.

"Let's go feed him so that his cheek's puff up," Luffy said, dragging me back towards the kitchen.

"My nap," I began, but Luffy wasn't listening. I sighed, letting him lead me back to the kitchen. Suki and Uri had come back down, and Zoro and Chopper had joined in too.

"Sanji! We need some food for Stub-tail!"

"Stub-tail?" Sanji asked.

Robin came in, and quietly walked over, handing Zoro his swords and sitting beside him.

"The chipmunk Luffy smuggled onto the ship."

"I didn't smuggle him," Luffy said defensively. "I just brought him on without anybody realizing it."

"So _that_'s what I've smelled these past couple of days," Chopper said, looking at the chipmunk.

"Mm," Luffy said.

"He's cute," Sanji said, reaching down to scratch the animal's chin as he put a plate of vegetables down in front of him. Stub-tail bit him.

"Ouch!"

Zoro laughed.

"That's what you get for kicking it," Usopp said.

"You kicked stub-tail?" everyone turned on Sanji.

"I hardly knew that it was an animal running around in Luffy's hat," Sanji said.

"You guys are so noisy," Yoku said. "What kind of pirates are you?"

"The best kind," I smiled sweetly.

"Mm," they all agreed.

"Well," Uri began, "Yoku's going to be Pirate King."

"You're wrong," I said. "Luffy's going to be Pirate King."

"No –Yoku's going to be Pirate King, and I'm going to be his Queen."

"There's only room for one King and Queen in the pirating world," I said, "And it's going to be me and Luffy."

"I'm going to be Pirate King," Yoku said, standing up.

"No," Luffy stood up.

"I won't let anyone stop my captain from getting there," Zoro drew one of his swords, holding it in the air between them over the table. He looked like a demon.

"Zoro, don't pull your stitches!" Chopper told him.

"Yohoho! I've missed all this noise," Brooke laughed. "But I have no ears to hear it with! Yohoho!"

"No fighting in my kitchen!" Sanji told us over his shoulder.

"No one but me is going to be Pirate King," Luffy said defiantly.

"Except –" Yoku began, but suddenly Suki shouted out.

"I'M GOING TO BE THE SOUL QUEEN!"

All of us were silent, and we looked at her. She slapped her hands over her mouth, turning bright red.

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed. "So you're joining our crew?"

Without removing her hands, she nodded.

"Shishishi! That's great!" Luffy laughed.

"ALL BOW DOWN BEFORE THE SOUL KING AND QUEEN~!" Usopp jumped up on the table and shouted.

"Brooke! Play us a song!" Chopper encouraged.

"Suki should sing!"

"I –"

"Yohoho! Come on!"

"Shishishi!"

While everyone was laughing, I smiled, biting back a yawn. Stub-tail came over, curling up on my lap. Silently, I picked up the chipmunk and slipped out of the dining hall, heading for my room.

I was so tired.

* * *

><p><em><span>Luffy<span>_

Nami snuck away while everyone was having fun, along with Stub-tail. Although I wanted to stay and have fun, after the party started and the other girls came down, I also left. I jumped from the kitchen door straight across to the women's quarters, and opened the door slowly.

Nami wasn't in her bed, but her closet was open. When she heard the door open, she took a step back to see who it was. She was only in a bra, and I wondered if she would have done it even if it hadn't been me. Or maybe she would just make them pay.

"What's wrong?" she asked, not bothering to cover up as she continued to go through her closet. I closed the door behind me.

"I just want to be with you," I told her.

She looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"I thought you were going to take a nap," I said, going to sit on her bed.

"I am," she stretched, and then reached into her closet. "I'm just… I missed the ship."

"Me too."

She grabbed a shirt and pulled it on, then came and sat beside me. "You look tired, too."

"Mm," I nodded.

She smiled again, shifting to pull herself under the blankets. She lifted the blanket, patting the space beside her. Laughing, I joined her.

"Ew, you're still damp," she said as she clung to my side.

"Oh, yeah," I said, jumping up.

"You don't have to change," she said, fighting against a yawn.

"No, I'll be back," I told her.

I went down to the men's quarters and changed into warm, dry clothes. My stomach rumbled as I pulled on a new shirt, but I ignored it as I headed back upstairs. As I slipped in, I glanced at Nami, and smiled. I closed the door, and walked over to her.

I hadn't been gone two minutes, but she was already passed out, Stub-tail curled up in her hair. The chipmunk lifted its head and looked at me for a minute before tucking back into itself and going back to sleep.

Gently, I lifted the covers and slipped in beside her. I wrapped my arms around her, burying my head in her neck. Finally we could go back to the way things were. Eating, sleeping, eating, and going on adventures.

I couldn't wait until our next adventure.

* * *

><p><em><span>Robin<span>_

I opened the door to the women's quarters, then closed it almost immediately, turning back to the girls.

"Let's go sleep in the aquarium."

* * *

><p><em><span>Suki<span>_

I woke up before the other girls, slipping off the bench in the aquarium and heading outside to the deck. As I opened the door, I realized Robin was gone. She had probably snuck off to see Zoro.

It was night outside. We'd all slept the entire day after our morning party. A morning party… We'd really had a party first thing in the morning, mind you it hadn't felt like morning.

At first I debated finding something to eat, but I wasn't all that hungry. Still, I headed for the kitchen. I entered, seeing Sanji at the stove. Silently, I slipped up the ladder. He was too… flamboyant and clingy. He was like dealing with a million fans all at once, and I just couldn't handle him alone.

Not knowing what else to do, I headed for the library. There had been so many books that I was sure I could find something there that interested me. As I neared the door, I heard music, muffled by the walls. I peeked in through one of the windows. Brooke had his back to the door, his violin in his hands and the case at his feet. With a smile, I snuck into the room, closing the door quietly.

I stood there, just watching him as he played, listening to his sorrowful music. It sounded like he was playing for all the lives lost yesterday.

Slowly, I approached him. Just before I reached him, he turned.

"Yohoho, what a sight to see," he laughed, lowering his instrument to his side.

"Except you don't have eyes to see with," I smiled.

"You're really going to join the crew?" he asked. "It's dangerous. We always run into a lot of trouble."

"I can fight, Brooke," I told him, looking up at his skinless face. I felt stronger now that the situation wasn't as hopeless. More confident. Back to my old self. "When you're in the entertainment business, if you don't know how to take care of yourself a little bit, you're easily kidnapped."

"But on the ship –"

"You scared them away before I even had a chance to do anything," I laughed.

"You're bluffing," he told me.

"I grew up in a circus," I took a step closer to him.

"Liar," he said.

"I'm great at throwing daggers," I couldn't help the twitching of my lips as I took another step.

"Liar," he repeated.

"I'm quick on my feet," I said, closing the distance between us.

"Li–" he began, but I hooked my foot around his leg, yanking his feet out from underneath him. I grabbed the front of his shirt and kept him from hitting the ground.

"And I'm freakishly strong for a girl," I told him. "But I don't think strength is a very girly feature so I usually don't brandish it."

"I hardly weight anything," he pointed out.

"That's because," I pulled him closer. "You're all bones."

And I pressed my lips against his –

"I'm sorry I have no lips to kiss with," he said, pulling away.

I smiled as I kissed his cheek.

"We'll figure it out."

* * *

><p><em><span>Nami<span>_

"I'm going to be Pirate King," Yoku said, shaking Luffy's hand.

Luffy tightened his grip until Yoku's fingers turned red. The other captain didn't even flinch. Luffy laughed as he took his hand away. "No way. I won't let you."

Yoku just smirked before he shook his head, turned and walked away. He lifted his hand in goodbye, not facing us as his crew members followed closely behind. Kouki was joining up with him. Apparently they'd gotten pretty close during the party I had ditched for a good, long sleep.

"Suki," Uri took her friend's hands in her own. "I'm sorry about earlier –"

"It's fine," Suki smiled.

"Best of luck," Uri threw her arms around her best friend. Suki hugged her back. When they drew apart, Uri took off. At the end of the dock, she turned. "We'll meet again along the Grand Line, right?"

"Of course," Suki called back.

"Don't hurt anyone!" Uri called out.

"I won't!" Suki laughed.

Luffy and I both looked at Suki, hardly thinking the slim girl with no muscles was capable of harming anything.

"Thank you!" Everyone else waved from the end of the pier as Franky walked along the dock, carrying heavy barrels of cola. Even Windsworth waved, Mariko perched high on his shoulders. Loki had wanted to join us, like Suki, but Luffy had told him to wait a few years to start his own crew. Loki had agreed with a grin. I think the pirate life really excited him.

I think everyone was just happy to be on land again. And I was too, but we'd already spent a day here. We were pirates –our hearts and souls belonged on the sea. It was time to get moving.

"Let's go," I said, tugging Luffy's arm. "We should go back to the other island and wait for the log pose to set."

"Can't we wait for it to set here?" Luffy asked.

"It's no fun for you and Yoku if you follow each other from island to island," I pointed out.

"That's not a good enough reason," Luffy pouted.

"I just want to relax," I stretched as I headed up to the bow. "But really, where's the rivalry when you're taking the exact same path?"

"Nami, what do you want me to do with the money you gave me?" Usopp asked.

"Whatever you want," I told him.

"I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU'RE TORMENTING ME LIKE THIS!" he shouted, throwing the money at my feet before running off. He stopped at the top of the stairs. "Take your money back! I will not be fooled by your tricks!"

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed, holding his straw-hat to his head as a gust of wind swept over us. "Oi, Nami, I'm hungry."

I bent down and picked up the gold, grinning, "So go eat. You can do that now, you know."

He just laughed.

Franky came up, and we left the pier.

I smiled as the sun hit us there on the deck.

Ah... It was good to be back.

* * *

><p><strong>The End<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Voila!

Did you enjoy it? I hope you did ^.^

If there are any loose end, then my apologies. But I'm pretty sure I got all the major ones, so I think we're good!

There are some parts in this story that relate to other stories of mine. Like **S****tub-tail**! He was in a one-shot in my collection "**Of Dreams, Clouds and Mikans**". If you want to meet him officially, I suggest you go there and find the chapter "Of Chipmunks". It's a cute story.

Yes, I gave Suki some kind of power. And a background. A circus freak. It has a lot to do with one of the other stories I have planned, and it just fit so well that I couldn't help it. It'll come up again in the next story ^.^ But really, I figured if she were going to join the Straw-hats, she couldn't be a damsel-in-distress singer. It just doesn't fit the criteria of awesomeness ;)

Well, that's about it. Any questions, message me and I'll try to explain myself in my reply XD

Hatemail I probably won't respond to :(

Thank you guys for reading! You're all awesome! ^.^


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